 |
|
|
 Editorials | Issues | September 2007 
Cracking Down on Cruising for Sex
 David Chanen & Curt Brown - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
go to original
U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's arrest at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is putting a new focus on efforts by authorities to curtail cruising for sex in public places.
On Wednesday, police said the Idaho Republican was one of 41 people arrested since May at the airport on allegations of illegal sexual activity in public restrooms.
While it's not clear if the Internet played a role in Craig's case, Web discussions have become a common forum for directing people to hot spots for anonymous gay sex.
Craig was arrested in June when he signaled to an officer in an adjoining restroom stall that he was interested in engaging in "lewd conduct," according to a misdemeanor charge filed against him.
He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 1 and was fined $575, but said this week he regrets the plea and that he "did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport."
Two of the airport arrests were linked to personal ads posted on craigslist, a popular site featuring free classified ads grouped by urban areas.
Another Web site lists Twin Cities-area malls, parks, health clubs and even a "cruisy toilet" at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Many postings list the best times to go and give graphic reviews of the venues.
An airport bathroom, specifically one near a shoeshine stand behind the ticket counter, generated the most comments until Web-site users posted warnings in June that men were getting arrested there. Craig was arrested shortly after noon on June 11 in the main men's public restroom of the North Star Crossing in the Lindbergh Terminal.
Experts weren't surprised by Craig's arrest, but there are different opinions about how the Internet has changed the dynamics of the subculture that seeks out anonymous sex in public places.
Historians have documented similar conduct going back 200 years in urban communities, but the Internet has raised awareness of both men looking for sex and police looking to arrest them, said Richard Tewksbury, a professor of justice administration at the University of Louisville who has researched such behavior for nearly 20 years.
"The Internet has ... provided greater awareness to individuals who previously didn't have any realization that such behavior went on," Tewksbury said. "But it's really a wash for law enforcement, because they certainly monitor these sites and know the locales."
Eli Coleman, a sexual-health professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said there's no evidence that the Internet has increased anonymous sexual activity.
"Anywhere men gather is a potential source," Coleman said. "Years ago, it was downtown skyway bathrooms."
Airport police officials wouldn't say how many of the arrests were related to its undercover enforcement effort to reduce such activity, said Kathleen Bangs, the Metropolitan Airports Commission's public information officer.
But the airport doesn't have any greater problems with sex in restrooms that any other airport, Bangs said.
Jack Lanners, the commission's chairman, said he's proud of the work done by airport police. There are a variety of ongoing investigations, and keeping tabs on sex in restrooms is one of them, he said.
"It happened there was a U.S. senator involved," Lanners said, "and the incident was like any other incident we run across."
A landmark study in the 1970s revealed that most men cruising for anonymous sex were married to women. "Some are truly gay and have been closeted and this is one of their few, if not only, opportunities for sex with other men," Tewksbury said.
Craig, who is married, stood outside a stall occupied by Sgt. David Karsnia of the Airport Police and looked in through the crack between the door and the frame. He entered the stall next to Karsnia and placed his bag against the front of his stall door, a common tactic for concealing sexual conduct, police reports said.
Karsnia said Craig tapped his foot, a signal that he was interested in having sex, the reports said. Craig eventually swiped his hand under the stall divider. During a news conference Tuesday, Craig said he has hired an attorney to review his case. With his wife by his side, Craig also said he isn't gay.
On Wednesday, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune obtained the airport police reports of the 41 men arrested for sexual misconduct since May. Nearly every report said a plainclothes officer was conducting a detail in response to complaints of sexual activity in the restroom at Lindbergh Terminal's North Star Crossing.
The ages of those arrested range from 21 to 75, and seven of the men list their employer as Northwest Airlines. Almost every man followed a pattern of activity similar to Craig's.
Somebody would look in the stall, tap a foot and wait for a return tap. A hand was run underneath the stall divider. Some men stuck their heads underneath the stall.
One man was an account executive for Revlon who listed a Park Avenue address in New York City. Another was a retail executive from Duluth, Minn.
(Contact the reporters at dchanen(at)startribune.com and curt.brown(at)startribune.com.)
Larry Craig resigns from Senate
John Miller & Matthew Daly - Associated Press
go to original
Idaho Sen. Larry Craig resigned Saturday over a men's room sex sting, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about a scandal dimming their election prospects.
"I apologize for what I have caused," Craig said.
Craig's resignation completed a stunning downfall that began Monday with the disclosure that he had pleaded guilty to a reduced charge following his arrest during a sex sting in a Minneapolis airport men's room.
Although leading members of his own party had called for him to step down, Craig steadfastly resisted resigning for days, contending that he had done nothing wrong and that his only mistake was pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge.
Craig was defiant after the arrest and guilty plea were first reported. "I am not gay. I never have been gay," he declared Tuesday in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, Suzanne, at his side. He said he had kept the incident from aides, friends and family and later pleaded guilty "in hopes of making it go away."
Craig, 62, has represented Idaho in Congress for more than a quarter-century and was up for re-election next year. He had not said if he would run for a fourth term in 2008 and was expected to announce his plans this fall.
"It is with sadness and deep regret that I announce it is my intention to resign from the Senate effective Sept. 30," Craig said, with his wife again at his side and Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter standing behind him.
"For any public official at this moment in time to be standing with Larry Craig is in itself a humbling experience," Craig said.
Craig was arrested June 11 in a police undercover vice operation in a men's room at the Minneapolis airport. The arresting officer, Sgt. Dave Karsnia, said in his report that the restroom is known location for homosexual activity.
"I am not gay. I never have been gay," Craig said at a news conference here Tuesday, a day after his guilty plea became public.
Republicans, worried about the scandal's effect on next year's election, suffered a further setback Friday when veteran Republican Sen. John Warner announced he will retire rather than seek a sixth term. Democrats captured Virginia's other Senate seat from the GOP in the 2006 election.
Otter said Saturday he has not chosen a replacement, although several Republicans familiar with internal deliberations said he favored Republican Lt. Gov. Jim Risch. He called speculation that he has made a choice "dead wrong."
Otter declined to say when he would fill the seat.
Craig opposes gay marriage and has a strong record against gay rights. He was a leading voice in the Senate on gun issues and Western lands. He chaired the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and was a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, where he was adept at securing federal money for Idaho projects.
A fiscal and social conservative, Craig sometimes broke with his party, notably on immigration, where he pushed changes that many in his party said offered "amnesty" to illegal immigrants. Much of the impetus behind Craig's push to ease bureaucratic hurdles to immigrant farm workers stemmed from his background as a rancher and the state's large rural, farming community.
Craig has faced rumors about his sexuality since the 1980s. He has called assertions that he has engaged in gay sex ridiculous.
"I have little control over what people choose to believe," he said Saturday. "But clearly my name is important to me and my family is so very important also."
Craig said pursuing legal efforts to clear his name "would be an unwanted and unfair distraction from my job and for my Senate colleagues. The people of Idaho deserve a senator who can devote 100 percent of his time and effort to the critical issues of our state and of our nation." |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us