A lone protester standing in the rain in front of the Langley Library Saturday tried to persuade library officials and the public that The Seattle Gay News does not belong on the shelves.

Hoping to bring out a bigger crowd of picketers — as he did in protests at The Clyde Theatre and Langley Middle School in the early 1990s — Rev. Bob LeRoy was alone in his crusade, which drew some stares from drivers and pedestrians but little response. It also did nothing to change the library’s newspaper policy.

LeRoy, a Clinton-area preacher, had hoped to bring out a number of picketers both at the Langley Library and at the Sno-Isle Library System distribution center in Marysville. But apparently his outcry against “gay newspapers” had little draw on a rainy weekend day. Several friends he had expected to turn out did not.

“I guess they chickened out,” he said.

Before taking to the street with a sign that read “We protest all homosexual newspapers in our libraries,” LeRoy did go through official channels to try to have the The Seattle Gay News removed. He told Langley librarian Vicki Welfare of his concern after seeing the newspaper in the library in mid-November. Welfare said Saturday the library’s board decided to start stock the publication last month because it is something members the Langley community would want to read.

“Langley is a pretty diverse community,” she said.

The newspaper looks much like many of the others available at the library. Published weekly, it reports on gay, lesbian and bisexual issues for Seattle-area readers. Matt Nagle, managing editor of the paper, said Monday that he was surprised to hear about anyone protesting his publication. In operation since 1972, The Seattle Gay News suffered through protests of its content during the 1980s. Since then, Nagle said, it has gained fairly wide acceptance.

“We’ve had elementary schools call us wanting to stock our newspaper,” he said.

The newspaper has turned down such requests, Nagle said.

LeRoy lodged an initial protest over the paper’s appearance at the Langley Library with Welfare. He also filled out a “request to reconsider,” a form library patrons can use to officially object to material they find offensive.

Welfare said it is unlikely the library board will take action on LeRoy’s request, which is the only one the library has received.

Saturday’s protest was short lived. LeRoy, who is 79, left his picketing post after about 45 minutes. He said he had one woman thank him for his protest, and another berate him at length.

Nevertheless, it was something he felt he had to do.

“I’m not trying to hurt the library,” he said. “I’m a preacher. That’s my job.”

In the interest of fairness, the library also stocks copies of LeRoy’s right-wing, Christian-oriented newspaper The Alarming Cry. That publication sits on a shelf within a foot of The Seattle Gay News.