Library patron rips cover from gay magazine

Although what he did could draw a $1,000 fine, John Callahan stands by his actions. Callahan, 77, frequently goes to the Williamsburg Library to catch up on the news, and he occasionally browses the magazine rack. Last week, the cover of one in particular jumped out. `It was right at eye level,` Callahan said, referring to the national gay and lesbian newsmagazine The Advocate. The cover of the Nov. 11 edition features a young white man and a black man, both bare-chested, engaging in a kiss. Their mouths don`t quite touch. It may have been a spoof of `the kiss` by Madonna and Britney Spears. `I thought of my grandchildren, and I thought of impressionable teenagers, so I took the cover off,` Callahan said. He ripped it off and took it home in disgust. A self-described liberal who served in the Marine Corps during World War II and is now retired, Callahan said people, including gays, should have the freedom to be whoever they want. But he doesn`t think his tax dollars should go to support a magazine that, in his eyes, is `too much.` `As a taxpayer, I think it`s terrible,` Callahan said. `They don`t put Playboy in the library because it`s considered immoral and indecent.` In response, library director John Moorman said he`s concerned that tearing off the cover is a Class 1 misdemeanor. `Defacing library materials is not the proper way to handle this,` Moorman said. `People need to be more tolerant.` Vandalism of library materials is nothing new, but Moorman said this is the first time that someone has defaced The Advocate since the library began carrying it in January 2001. Moorman said the library subscribed to the magazine after receiving many requests from members of the community. `We represent all the taxpayers,` he said. `We are a community organization, and we serve the whole community. Moorman has carved out a reputation as a free speech proponent. He has resisted installing filtering software on the library`s Internet computers because he believes supervision by parents trumps censorship by institutions. Many libraries have put in filters under parental and political pressure. The Nov. 11 edition of The Advocate appears to be racier than usual. Previous issues feature fully clothed men smiling and laughing, and the most recent edition features TV-actor Chad Allen holding a stack of Christmas gifts while dressed for the holidays. Barry Trott, the library`s adult services manager, said it`s not uncommon for magazines to spice up the cover to attract readers. On the same magazine rack as The Advocate sits the November issue of Cosmopolitan featuring a buxom Britney Spears. Down a little farther, a scantily clad Jessica Simpson is shown holding a vacuum cleaner on the cover of Rolling Stone. `There is going to be something in the library that is offensive to everyone in the community, including me,` he continued. With the new issue of The Advocate on display, library staff has taped a warning sign in bright orange informing people that they face a fine if they rip a cover off. `I just didn`t feel that they needed to brandish it,` Callahan said. `It just rubbed me the wrong way.`