Current Podcast

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Santorum supporter sells interest in gym to avoid gay boycott

Santorum supporter sells interest in gym to avoid gay boycott

J. Manuel Says: I'm not sure what to think about this topic. Let me know what you guys think. I gave you two articles about the topic.


The owner of a gym popular among Philadelphia's gays has avoided a boycott by agreeing to sell his portion of the business. A group of gay and Democratic activists had planned to boycott the city's 12th Street Gym to protest owner Bob Guzzardi's financial support of Sen. Rick Santorum and other conservative candidates and causes.Guzzardi kept the situation from boiling over when he agreed Friday to sell his share of the gym to co-owner Rick Piper. Piper said the deal, effective next month, came in response to the pending protest.Guzzardi declined to comment Monday. Piper declined to disclose details of their transaction.Santorum, who opposes same-sex marriage, angered gay rights groups in 2003 when he said states have the right to ban homosexual acts, just as they do incest, adultery, polygamy, and "man on dog" bestiality.Shortly after 5 p.m. Monday about a dozen people gathered in front of the gym, one carrying a sign that declared the area a "Santorum-free Zone." The proposed boycott had been organized by the Liberty City Democratic Club, an organization of gay and lesbian activists; Philly for Change, a grassroots group that grew from Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign; and Philadelphians Against Santorum, a group started by blogger Ray Murphy."We're going to keep an eye out" to make sure Guzzardi divests from the business, Murphy said. (Associated Press)



Republican Party article.

Mad Muscle Queens vs. Santorum Supporter
I got a chuck out of this earlier in the day, but I’m only just getting around to blogging it. You’d think that someone who owns a gym in a major urban setting would know his clientele well enogh to avoid pissing them off. For those who don’t know, set foot into a gym in a fashionable neighborhood in any major city and you’ll probably find that gay men comprise a significant percentage of the clientele. (Being a gay dad exempts one from that, but otherwise I think it’s a law.
But it took the threat of a boycott to for a Philladelphia gym owner, and supporter of Republican Senator Rick Santorum, to figure that out. Actually, I should have said "former gym owner."
They won the battle without firing a shot.
A group of gay and Democratic activists yesterday turned the planned launch of a boycott of Philadelphia’s 12th Street Gym into a victory rally after a change in the ownership of the business.
They had targeted the gym, popular in the city’s gay community, to protest owner Bob Guzzardi’s financial support of Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) and other conservative candidates and causes.
But Guzzardi defused the situation by agreeing on Friday to sell his share of the gym to co-owner Rick Piper, according to Piper and boycott organizers.
"In gay politics, we so rarely get to celebrate a victory, we didn’t know what to do at first," said Kelly Groves, cochairman of the Liberty City Democratic Club, an organization of gay and lesbian activists. "This is big news for us."
Naturally there’s a blogger behind it. At least one commenter suggests that the guy still owns the building, and will thus still be getting rent from the gym, so I don’t know if this counts as a victory. But as the spokesperson quoted above suggested, I dont’ blame the Philly gay community for celebrating their victories wherever they find them, big or small.

No comments: