This was an article published in my paper just before the election, and it got by me. Too late to post now - if it was current, I would have given it it's own post.
Mother Complains After Kids Get `Erotica' Candy At Church
By CANDACE J. SAMOLINSKI csamolinski@tampatrib.com
Published: Oct 26, 2004
NEW PORT RICHEY - A party in support of gay and lesbian groups left one mother with nothing to celebrate.
A carnival atmosphere took over Thys Road on Saturday afternoon outside Spirit of Life Metropolitan Community Church at the Pasco Pride Coalition's ``Stand Proud! A Celebration!'' event.
On the surface it looked like a typical church festival, but a closer look revealed drag queens performing and vendors selling items in support of gay pride.
Natalie Cundiff, 33, who lives on nearby Butte Avenue, says her nieces, ages 9 and 11, and six other neighborhood children got too close to the true meaning of the celebration. The children were at a friend's house and wandered to the festival without Cundiff's knowledge.
About 5 p.m. Saturday, Cundiff called the Pasco County Sheriff's Office to complain after the children returned home with packages of penis-shaped candy. Cundiff said they bought the mints for $2 a package. They also told stories of seeing bumper stickers with sexually charged phrases.
``The gayness didn't offend me. It was the fact that they were selling this kind of thing to children. Why didn't one of the adults shoo them away?,'' Cundiff asked Monday. ``A church is a place of worship. What kind of church passes out penis candy?''
Deputy Robert Wood interviewed the vendor who had the candy, but found no evidence of wrongdoing, said sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll. The vendor told Wood the children stole the candy, but there wasn't evidence to make an arrest.
``Even if he had sold it to them, I don't know that there would have been anything illegal about that,'' Doll said. ``You can go into bakeries and buy things in the shape of sexual organs.''
This was the first high-profile event at the church. The Rev. Doreen Shambrook, who leads the 50-member congregation, said she also looked into Cundiff's complaint.
``These were pieces of candy, gay erotica, that were not on display. The vendor later recognized somebody had been under the table,'' she said. ``They're lucky they weren't arrested for shoplifting.''
Cundiff denied the children stole the mints. She also disputed Shambrook's statement that neighbors were notified this would be a gay-influenced festival.
Shambrook said she is saddened by the outcome.
``We did have children at the festival with their parents. We want to be a welcoming church that allows children to feel safe,'' she said.
Shambrook also said gay pride festivals are known for displays of self-expression.
``We did have drag queens performing, and it was advertised as such,'' she said. ``If they were uncomfortable, they should have stopped their kids from coming or accompanied their children and saw what was going on.''