Disgraced Senator Larry Craig backs Romney: watch the video!

family values (6.00 / 3)

yeah, i guess it's problematic to be lauded by the commentator for your sharing of family values with him when those values include sexual hypocrisy,  adultery and endangering the health of one's spouse.

has willard reached out to support senator craig's wife through all of this, or is she, like all the other cheated-on wives, just left to dress her own wounds?  we never seem to hear about the female props these men use, unless they are campaigning for their menfolk.

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by: Laurel @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 11:47:17 AM CDT

we live in a police state (5.00 / 1)

Do our police officers have nothing better to do than sit in bathrooms waiting to arrest men who just want to have a little fun? Where is the outrage that our tax dollars are funding the entrapment of people engaging in consentual, adult, homosexual activity?

Even the police report indicates that Craig did nothing but tap his foot and wave his hand. I'm not sure how that constitutes "lewd." And I am outraged that a person could be arrested simply for making gestures.

The police report also indicates that men who cruise for men in bathrooms will often try their best to block everything from public view.  Have you ever gone into a bathroom and been psychologically or physically injured by two men having sex behind the walls and doors of a stall?

Yes, Craig is a closeted right-wing nightmare, but that doesn't justify these kinds of traps.

This kind of policing terrifies the gay community. When will the day come that a man can have sex with another man at 3am in the reeds at the Fens, or in the privacy of a bathroom stall without being arrested?

Mark Snyder, QueerToday

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by: milo200 @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 16:09:14 PM CDT

i agree to a degree. (0.00 / 0)

problem is, there can be no expectation of privacy in a bathroom stall or other public place.  at least, not the level of privacy you are asking for.

can i run something by you?  i have suggested elsewhere that certain parts of public parks be set aside for sex, and clearly demarcated (3 ft fence, perhaps?) so that no one wanders in by mistake.  it is already common to see huge fenced runways set aside just for people with dogs.  why not for people wanting anonymous sex?  unfortunately, i suspect that a culture that would institute such an idea wouldn't be uptight about sex, and so the need for such areas wouldn't be so pronounced in the first place.  but anyway, what do you think?

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by: Laurel @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 16:38:17 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Privacy (6.00 / 1)

I agree that selective enforcement is a problem, but from a public policy point of view, I don't think sex in a public place will ever fly. But if the government stays out of the bedroom, OK.

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by: JimC @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 16:51:48 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I find it interesting that you are standing up for... (0.00 / 0)

...George Michael, but, no

One This kind of policing terrifies the gay community.

This kind of policing has nothing to do with the gay community; it has everything to do with the straight men who want to have homosex on the side.  Those straight men who want to have a little homosex on the side are not gay.

The problem that you have is, that more often than not, the straight men who want to have "homosex dalliances on the side" are among those who most consistently vote against equal rights for openly gay people.

Two Where is the outrage that our tax dollars are funding the entrapment...

I'm sorry to disabuse you, but this incident was not entrapment.  I suspect, but cannot prove, that the police surveillance was initiated by complaints from patrons of the Minneapolis airport that this particular restroom was a haven for solicitation, and that they were annoyed by the solicitation.  (It is--or at least was--possible to find "cruisy areas" over the Internet.)  And that is probably why the cop was there.  It wasn't a situation like AbScam, which actually was entrapment.

Going back to "one," I don't know whether or not you are gay, but I have made it clear that I am.  I have generally been annoyed when people had tried to make a pass at me in public rest rooms.  Terrified about such actions?  No.  They should rent a hotel room.  Or hook up over the Internet chat rooms.  Let the rest of us just pee in peace.

BTW, if you are really interested in public rest-room sex, rent the early 1980s German movie Taxi Zum Klo

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by: raj @ Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 10:29:52 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Are You Guys Serious? (0.00 / 0)

I absolutely support gay rights, and I absolutely celebrate the fact of gay marriage in Massachusetts, and look forward to it everywhere. What consenting adults do in the privacy of their homes, and wherever else they may have privacy concerns me not one wit. I don't care who or waht Larry does, or who does Larry (though I do enjoy watching the hypocrite twist in the wind).

But sex in public bathrooms? Please.

First, my own personal experience: I'm taking a dump in a rest area in Connecticut, and I get propositioned. Some guy is eyeballing me through the crack in the door. Could I just have a little privacy, please?

Second, some parents just might like to take their minor children into a public bathroom so they could do their business without two people having sex in the next stall. Going potty should not have to turn into a lesson about the birds and the bees. And your 14 year old should not have to worry about having his shoes tapped while he relieving himself.

Sex zones in public parks? Behind 3 foot fences so we don't accidetally wander in? What will the international sign for that look like?

As far as a PR campaign goes, this seems like the wrong end to be starting at. Drop a few bucks on a cheap hotel, relax and enjoy the ride. Go someplace where your accidental neighbors won't be made uncomfortable, and everybody will feel just a little bit better. Please.

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by: Kraank @ Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 08:36:58 AM CDT

Yeah, I'm pretty much with you. (0.00 / 0)

Airport bathrooms are heavily trafficked, and public bathrooms generally are bad enough without someone in the next stall getting off.  If we had unisex bathrooms, I wouldn't want heterosex going on in them either.  It's not a gay thing; it's a question of considerate use of public space.  Motels don't cost that much; back seats of cars are free; and the internet is an excellent way to find like-minded folks, as raj noted in another thread.  Keep it out of the bathrooms, for God's sake.

Heh -- we should have a contest to design the international sign for hanky-panky zones in parks.

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by: David @ Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 10:05:21 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

international sign (0.00 / 0)

that's easy: the smiley face with a satisfied, relaxed grin.

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by: Laurel @ Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 10:30:50 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

okay... (0.00 / 0)

First off, I have learned a lot about the men who have sex with men in public areas such as the fens through safer sex trainings and such. Many of them are out and happy to be gay, and just like having sex in the park.  The more stigma the harder it is to spread accurate safer sex information among communities who cruise for sex.

If someoen hits on you or glances at you through the stall and you aren't interested, tell them. What is the big deal?

If two men are having loud sex or something, and people are disturbed tell them to stop. Get a security guard to ask them to leave.  No one is suggesting that people shoudl be having group sex on the benches lining tremont street at lunchtime.

But do we need police pretending to be gay to trick people so they can arrest them before any real crime was committed? It's crazy!

It is not like cruising is causing the meltdown of our society, or even hurting children. I have heard not 1 single story of a child being psychologically injured of physically injured by men cruising in bathrooms.

These men are cruising for sex with men, not children. And as the police report indicated they try their best to keep things quiet and private - they do not want to get caught or disturbed.  Some guys will cruise their in the bathroom then go somewhere else to have sex, or just exchange cell numbers. Are you going to arrest them?

Mark Snyder, QueerToday

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by: milo200 @ Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 11:19:16 AM CDT

also (0.00 / 0)

Where are homeless people supposed to get off?

Mark Snyder, QueerToday

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by: milo200 @ Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 11:20:08 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I guess they should do it (0.00 / 0)

in front of an elementary school.  I mean really, are your kidding or what?  Homeless people should have sex in the airport bathrooms. 

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by: RegularJoe @ Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 19:13:49 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Look, (0.00 / 0)

I don't want ANYONE looking through the damn stall!  Period!  It's not that complicated!  Furthermore, it should not be on the shoulders of the poor traveler who just wants to take a dump after a long flight to have to worry about whether he ought to call security because of sketchy behavior two stalls over.  It shouldn't happen at all, ever, in public bathrooms.  They're not designed for it, and it's not an appropriate or considerate use of public space.  Again, what's wrong with the internet?

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by: David @ Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 18:48:59 PM CDT

[ Parent ]