Southern Decadence Protest Leader Arrested for Masturbating in Public Park

Why is it that it seems that hardly a day doesn't go by without some loud mouth Christianist homophobe or another getting caught up in some kind of kinky sexual escapade or some type of inappropriate sexual behavior that flies in the face of the "family values" they claim to champion? The hypocrisy is truly stunning. Today's addition to the list of gay haters who have been caught in their own sexual peccadillo is the Rev. Grant Storms, the Christian fundamentalist known for his bullhorn protests of the Southern Decadence festival in the French Quarter. It seems the good reverend was wanking off in Lafreniere Park (a public park) near the carousel and children's playground. Two women called police who took Storms into custody. Here are highlights from the Times Picayune:
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The Rev. Grant Storms, the Christian fundamentalist known for his bullhorn protests of the Southern Decadence festival in the French Quarter, was arrested on a charge of masturbating at a Metairie park Friday afternoon.
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The first woman told deputies she was taking her children to the playground and parked next to the van at about noon. As she was walking around her own vehicle, she noticed the van windows were down and the occupant [Storms] was "looking at the playground area that contained children playing, with his zipper down...," the report said. The woman noted that he was masturbating and quickly ushered her children out of her car.
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The two women flagged down a park employee who notified the Sheriff's Office. The employee detained the man, later identified as Storms, until deputies arrived. Storms told deputies he was having lunch at the park when he decided to urinate using a bottle instead of the restroom, the report said.
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Deputies booked him with obscenity. Bond was set at $5,000, but he was released from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on Sunday because of jail crowding.
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Storms could not be reached for comment on Monday. A self-styled "Christian patriot," Storms led a small West Bank congregation called The Reformer Church and for 10 years hosted "The Reformer Radio Show" on WSHO.
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He is especially known for arming followers with bullhorns, Bibles and picket signs to protest Southern Decadence, the three-day gay festival held in the French Quarter during Labor Day weekend. Storms grabbed national attention in 2003 with his failed attempts to shut down what Southern Decadence organizer Chuck Robinson called a peaceful festival that celebrates gay and alternative lifestyles.
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"He's done everything through the years to disturb that and try to make it into something nasty that it's not," Robinson said. "If the Rev. Storms is caught doing that in our city, it is ludicrous and heinous that he would have the nerve to complain about any kind of sexuality."