The Political Whore

By Lorna Bracewell
PoHo contributor

On Saturday, June 27, thousands of people gathered in the streets of St. Petersburg, FL for the city’s annual Gay Pride parade and festival. While we were celebrating and honoring the legacy of the LGBT civil rights movement, our local NBC affiliate (WFLA-Ch. 8) was airing Speechless: Silencing the Christians, an hour long special paid for by the conservative American Family Association (AFA) that makes a series of specious and demeaning claims about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Watch a clip from the program after the jump.

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By Lorna Bracewell
PoHo contributor

In a presidential proclamation issued on Monday, President Barack Obama officially recognized the month of June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The president’s call for equality and his acknowledgment of the many contributions LGBT people have made to America’s culture, society and politics despite being culturally, socially and politically marginalized are truly moving. However, I can’t help feeling slightly ambivalent about the whole thing. Here’s why:

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Tampa, as a government, has done better than some in its handling of private nonprofits that it supports over the past three years of tightening budgets. Two years ago, it cut funding to city-owned partners like the Florida Aquarium by 10 percent and other nonprofits by 20 percent. Last year, no cuts were made.

But in the upcoming budget, Mayor Pam Iorio says she will be forced to cut funding to both categories by the same formula as two years ago, 10 percent cuts to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Lowry Park Zoo, Florida Aquarium, Tampa Theatre, Tampa Museum of Art, and H. B. Plant Museum, and 20 percent cuts to a dozen or so other nonprofits.

The city’s full statement after the jump:

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