Hillsborough’s Tipping Point

As we know,this county recently took a giant step for kind man when it voted unanimously to move forward with a local law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Indeed, this is no longer the Hillsborough County Commission of Topical Storms Ronda and Killer Bee Brian Blair.

It still tacks conservative, to be sure, but it no longer uses “traditional family values” as code for gay bashing. Mark Sharpe, who actually joined with Storms and Blair in a 2005 vote to ban county recognition of gay pride events, is Exhibit A for ideological change. He joined in the commission’s unanimous repeal of the ban last year.

As with any sea change in matters political, there is a tipping point. We’re not talking about doing the “right thing” because it is the “right thing.” Political epiphanies don’t work that way. They’re normally not that noble.

The tipping point, quite arguably, came from the business community. When the establishment–as in the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, the Tampa Downtown Partnership and the Westshore Alliance–plus numerous individual business entities–support gay rights, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of economic self-interest, let alone history.

You don’t typically find the business community in the vanguard of social change. So, when it does get overtly supportive, it sends a message. In this case: Being perceived as a non-progressive area is not good for business.

When supporting diversity in its various manifestations becomes a bottom line priority–because it enhances an image and helps a business recruit and retain top talent–a tipping point has been reached. We’re there.

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