"some of the more unsavory uses of the park.... gay men, who often use the reeds as cover for their trysts.... public sex.... gay cruising.... pleasure seekers.... in search of anonymous sex"
Are there NO PUBLIC DECENCY LAWS or STATUTES against PROSTITUTION in Boston? Would HETEROSEXUALS be treated with SUCH DEFERENCE?
"Reaction mixed to police focus on Fens; Some feel it puts civil rights at risk" by Maria Cramer, Globe Staff | September 21, 2009
.... For the last few weeks, police in cars and motorcycles have patrolled the Fens off Boylston Street for about 16 hours a day, a move that has thrilled many of the gardeners, who want to tend their radishes, tomatoes, and dahlias without encountering debris from some of the more unsavory uses of the park. But one person’s vision of a cleaner, safer park is another person’s possible civil rights violation. Some are concerned that the patrols may be targeting gay men, who often use the reeds as cover for their trysts.
“Our experience in the past is that whenever police go into a gay cruising area, civil rights problems result,’’ said Don Gorton, president of the Anti-Violence Project of Massachusetts, a gay-rights advocacy group. “Oftentimes when there are reports or concerns [about crime], the police go in and sweep everyone out. They say ‘leave.’ And that tends to deny gay men access to public land. And that’s discrimination. That’s the danger we’re trying to avoid.’’
This guy is not actually arguing in favor of this immorality, is he?
He's DEFENDING IMMORAL SEX, is he?
You guys REALLY ARE a bunch of moral degenerates, aren't you?
Police say they are there only to deter crime that has long plagued the park, including vandalism, assaults, robberies, and drug dealing. The patrols, which will continue indefinitely....
If the police presence also has the effect of deterring public sex, many of the parkgoers see that as a welcome development, while others contend the patrols are overly oppressive. For many who tend the Fenway Victory Gardens, sex in the reeds has been a bane. Gardeners say they have often found used condoms, soiled clothes, and other garbage discarded in their rose bushes.
Tim Horn, president of the Fenway Garden Society, said that one afternoon, he saw two men having sex inside the gardens. “Whatever [police] have to do to get our gardens safe, I’m willing to follow along,’’ Horn said, adding that since the police have been present, he has seen more families and children at the park.
On a recent sunny afternoon, the Fens was filled with people. As dusk fell, gardeners worked their plots, couples walked, and people napped under trees. Michael Smith of Dedham walked near the reeds with his partner, who identified himself as John, and their English mastiff, Roxy. As Roxy rolled in the grass, a blue-and-white police cruiser slowly drove by and parked. Both men were happy to see the officer.
“It’s about time they put their foot down,’’ Smith said.
“You’ve got people fixing their gardens who shouldn’t come the next day finding rubbers, garbage,’’ said John.
They must be SELF-HATING GAYS, right?
But Dennis Sullivan, a 43-year-old gardener, said he has heard from other gardeners who said they were approached by officers asking them what they were doing in the park.
“It’s kind of overkill,’’ he said of the patrols. “It’s effective, but at what cost? It makes people kind of uncomfortable.’’
No, what MAKES US UNCOMFORTABLE is the thought of (ugh!) going on in the bushes over there!
Horn said that soon after the police began showing up at the park, dozens of plots were vandalized in a move that some saw as retaliation for the patrols.
Gay terrorists? YUP! See: Outing the Gay Agenda
After that, police began spending even more time in the park....
BACKFIRE!
Officers have not arrested anyone for public sex and that the goal of their increased presence was never to deter sex in the reeds.
I have NEVER SEEN a GROUP SO CATERED TO!
What, do they have photos on everyone or something?
Superintendent-in-chief Daniel Linskey and Gorton, along with other groups representing gay rights, plan to meet tomorrow to discuss potential civil rights violations.
What about MY CIVIL RIGHT not to be DISGUSTED in PUBLIC!!!!?
Gorton asked for the meeting after he read of the increased police presence in Bay Windows, a weekly paper about the gay community. Civil rights lawyers say that people engaging in sexual activity outdoors are not breaking the law as long as they are shielding themselves from public view....
Massachushitts is F***ING SICK!
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Looks like a gay fight, too; pro-gay Globe approves:
"Policing: Welcome presence in the Fens
Extra police presence is welcome around the Back Bay Fens area, despite concerns by some gay-rights activists that the deployment is designed to suppress gay cruising in the area. The police have shown no motive other than a desire to deal with an uptick in aggravated assaults while offering protection to community gardeners and others who stroll through. The patrols may also protect the pleasure seekers themselves, who are sometimes targets of criminals.
Oh is that what they are doing? Seeking pleasure?
The activists, no doubt, remember the days when urban police looked for excuses to expose and humiliate gay people. But attitudes have changed, and Boston police take a low-key approach toward trysts in the Fens. They don’t seek to harass or arrest anyone in the high weeds who takes precautions against being seen by passersby. That’s consistent with the laws on public sex. But police aren’t promoting a Saturnalia, either. If anyone in search of anonymous sex is discomfited by the sight of police cruisers or bike patrols, they should get a room.
Yeah, and HELP OUT the HOTEL INDUSTRY during this recession, huh?
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