Call it a win for tolerance, diversity and Gay Pride, because this is not 2005 and the fundamentalist fringe did not get its way with a Republican majority. But that Hillsborough County Commission vote to repeal the ban of county recognition of Gay-Pride events was also–and probably primarily–a win for pragmatism.
You’d like to think that an ever-evolving commission will get to the point where it does the right thing for the right reason: Treat people fairly. Whether it’s a Gay-Pride event or a domestic partner registry. That moment, arguably, has yet to arrive, but it’s closer.
Last week’s unanimous commission vote–as well as the preceding proclamation saluting GaYbor Days–was a testimonial to a changing national climate that Hillsborough is, mercifully, not an exception to. But it was also an acknowledgement that this region was hurting itself in the marketplace. You don’t signal to the outside world that you’re a hotbed of homophobes and hope that outlier reputation doesn’t impact you where it matters most: economically.
Without a more symbolically “tolerant” political climate, there is no way that the Tampa area can meaningfully tap into the $85 billion annual gay and lesbian travel industry, which also includes cruises.
Sure, it would be preferable if the prevailing commission ideology were simply equality–not pragmatic opportunity. But this is Hillsborough, and this is a big step, one that there is no retreating from.
And good work, Kevin Beckner. He’s no one-trick pony because he’s openly gay. He’s a commissioner who happens to be gay–and he happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right–but not righteous–message.