My thinking on his arrest and the current media frenzy about it is rather muddled. One the one hand, I understand what Bill Araiza is saying at Prawfsblawg and the similar view Hilzoy articulated at Obsidian Wings. Larry Craig appears to be a hypocrite who actively makes like miserable for homosexuals, so he deserves the negative public attention he is currently receiving. On the other hand, I don’t understand why the police are arresting people who are (fairly discretely, if I correctly understand the facts) looking for consensual sex partners. I understand that people prefer not to be subjected to unwanted advances in a public bathroom, but does anyone believe for a second that Craig would have been arrested for hitting on a woman with the same degree (or lack) of subtlety in the Minneapolis Airport, or anywhere else? And couldn’t the problem be solved with bathroom attendants, rather than police presence? Craig is a hypocritical jerk, but I don’t understand why what he did is criminal, and the homophobia permeating a lot of the coverage is pretty appalling too, just surf the comments threads at any “liberal” blog for examples.
–Ann Bartow
Update: Major props to Orin Kerr for closing comments on this post at the Volokh Conspiracy rather than allowing what I have so assume was some fairly vile homophobia. Far too many Supposedly Liberal Doods would have declined to do this, or even joined in. For example this guy will instrumentally criticize gay bashing by conservatives, but doesn’t seem to care what his readers write.
Craig was not arrested for mere solicitation, was he? I thought the alleged crime was an attempt to have sex in the bathroom, which was the activity that, I believe, prompted the police presence in the bathroom in the first place. If it was prosecuted for attempt, then it does seem like quite a flimsy case, because it’s doubtful that the state could bootstrap solicitation into an attempt to have sex in the place where the solicitation occurred.
One of the links in the post is to the arrest report (http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/craig-arrest-doc/ ) Always a good idea to ascertain the facts before opining, I tend to think.
The arrest report doesn’t even state the crime for which Craig was arrested. Presumably the lewd conduct complained of by restroom patrons–which caused the police patrol in the first place–was actual sex, not mere solicitation. So why do you think Craig was arrested and charged with criminal solicitation, rather than an attempt to have sex in the bathroom?
Joe said: The arrest report doesn’t even state the crime for which Craig was arrested.
The arrest report unambiguously states the crimes Craig was charged with, so I’m getting the strong impression that you, Joe, are a troll. Please go elsewhere.