This won't be a tirade about Sen. Larry Craig's hypocrisy or cowardice. I actually feel a bit sorry for the guy (and even more so for his wife). His hypocrisy is obvious, but I also consider him a coward because he was afraid to confront the reality of who he is (admittedly, not an easy thing for anyone, much less an elected official, to do in Idaho) and instead, aggressively covered it up by being virulently anti-gay.
But I am bothered by some of the circumstances and have questions about the way in which the event transpired.
My concern assumes three things: 1) homosexuality per se is not illegal in Minnesota; 2) sexual acts in public places between consenting adults of the opposite or same gender are illegal in Minnesota; and 3) sex with minors is not being considered.
Here we go.
- 1) The police officer who arrested Craig, Sgt. Dave Karsnia, according to some, is cute. He's certainly very good-looking and young - kind of innocent looking, don't you think? Were the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP) police targeting sexual predators? Since Karsnia was on the lookout for gay men soliciting sex in public places, wouldn't he provoke more sexual interest, say, than a guy who looked like Fred Thompson, Wilford Brimley, or me? Why should the MSP police use a cute guy for these kinds of operations? Do they have "regular-looking" guys?
2) For Sgt. Karsnia to arrest Craig, didn't he have to respond to Craig's coded overtures, so that Craig would persist and show himself to be a homosexual, and not merely someone who accidentally touched the officer's foot? Doesn't this border on entrapment?
3) Since the MSP police have operations targeting gay men, do they also have them targeting lesbian women seeking (free) consensual sex in public places, e.g., ladies' restrooms ? And how about operations targeting men or women seeking (free) consensual heterosexual sex in public places? If a man tries to pick up a woman (or vice-versa) for a "quickie" in a broom closet or elsewhere at MSP, wouldn't this be illegal? Do the MSP police have sexy men and women patrolling public places where heterosexual consensual sex might be likely, so they can arrest heterosexuals as well? If you are in a public restroom, you're probably looking for homosexual sex. If the MSP police do not have the aforementioned operations, then aren't they discriminating against homosexuals, and possibly only against homosexual men?
As for Sen. Craig himself, he announced his intent to resign, presumably so he can spend more time with his family not being gay.
That's all.
"You don't have to be straight to shoot straight." -- Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), when asked if he thought gays should serve in the military.
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