Last year he participated in the parade by throwing beads with his church group. 'I never, as a younger gay boy from a small town, thought I could find so many great friends or find myself living a life this fabulous,' he said.Ĭloser to the start of the parade stood Ben Woodard, 61, a retired Polk County teacher. Looking at the parade now, he said he is overwhelmed by what he sees. It was a shameful part of the area's history, he said. Storms, a former Hillsborough County commissioner and state senator, pushed for an ordinance that prevented the county from recognizing gay pride.īarnett, who's lived in Tampa for 20 years, said he attended parades in St.
'I remember the prides before Ronda Storms,' Barnett said while standing on the parade route near N 17th Street.
It wasn't that long ago when Hillsborough County banned gay pride parades, and Bo Barnett, 52, has made it a point to come out to each one of the four held in Ybor since the prohibition was lifted.
