Petrelis Files

NYC Protest to Mayor:

Gay Sex Stings = 'Blow' to Liberty

Thanks to Joe Jervis of the JoeMyGod.com site, for lots of photos and a report, and the Associated Press' account, I have some info to share on today's demonstration at New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's private home.

From the AP wire story, which apparently was written before the protest took place:

Gay New Yorkers staged a protest near Mayor Michael Bloomberg's home Saturday, asking him to stop police from what they say are arrests on false prostitution charges.

"This is a strange, weird kind of thing, where an undercover police officer is offering to pay money to an individual," said Bill Dobbs, a gay activist. "And all of a sudden, there's an arrest -- whether or not the individual accepts the money."

He said police have targeted Manhattan shops that sell erotic materials, approaching male customers and offering them sex and money. The men are then arrested on prostitution charges. ...

Dobbs helped organize the demonstration near Bloomberg's home on East 79th Street, just off Fifth Avenue. Police stood guard outside the mayor's home and set up barricades on Fifth Avenue to contain several dozen activists. ...

"The city is using gay men as a means to shutter places," said Dobbs, who is an attorney. "This is a blow to civil liberties, it's a dangerous kind of sting." ...

While the JoeMyGod report clearly is an after-the-fact report on what went down:

Today a group of LGBT rights and sexual freedom activists gathered just down the block from Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Upper East Side mansion to protest the false arrests of gay men in NYC's adult bookshops. Robert Pinter, a victim of this campaign, gave interviews to a number of local and national newsmedia outlets as two dozen gay men marched with placards denouncing Bloomberg and the NYPD.

On hand were a number of familiar LGBT activists: Brendan Fay, Gilbert Baker, Ann Northrop, Father Tony, Eric Leven, John Weis and journalists Andy Humm and Duncan Osbourne. It was Osbourne's relentless pursuit of this story that brought the entire illegal campaign to light.

A super-huge shout-out to our brothers and sisters who staged and participated in this important demonstration for sexual freedom, especially since it's so cold back East. Thanks guys, for the great job!

Here is a fabulous video of the action. It was made by Louis Flores. Big thanks, Louis, for the YouTube:



[Photo credit: Joe Jervis.]