Anti-gay activist Robert Joyce is trying to get my old paper, the Boston Phoenix, banned in West Roxbury, the Roslindale Transcript reports. Joyce says he doesn’t like the Phoenix’s adult-oriented classified ads, although he adds that it would be OK if escort services offered chicken dinners.
One of Joyce’s targets, liquor store owner Gary Park, says Joyce threatened him if he continued to carry the Phoenix. Jessica Smith writes:
“He [Joyce] walked in here and instead of talking like a gentleman, he started making threats and giving me ultimatums,” said Park.
The threats include promises of a protest. Joyce said that while the group has yet to apply for a permit to protest, his organization was looking for volunteers to hold signs and to organize such an event. Still, that did not sway the man who owns Gary’s Liquors.
Park said he does not intend to stop carrying the publication that he has had in his store for years and is available for free all over the commonwealth.
“Mr. Joyce has way too much time on his hands. He should be helping homeless people and the elderly. If he doesn’t like the paper, then don’t come pick it up,” said Park, who stressed that his business caters to individuals who are age 21 and older.
Someone should tell Joyce that picking up a copy of the Phoenix every week is not mandatory. Although I recommend it.
By the way, the name of Joyce’s organization is the delightfully Orwellian Support Community Decency Inc. (Via Universal Hub, which also links to this story in the West Roxbury Bulletin.)
