LGBTQ parents react to the Larry Craig scandal
David on Aug 31st 2007
There has been so much in the news about the Larry Craig scandal. In case you have been living under a rock, he’s the Republican Senator from Idaho that was nabbed by police in a Minneapolis airport men’s room for alleged lewd conduct. Craig, who is married with three children, has now gone out of his way to assert that he isn’t gay.
The fact is, rumors of Craig being gay aren’t new. Allegations date back to the 80s. And Mike Rogers of BlogActive “outed” Craig last October.
There have been mixed reactions to this latest scandal even within our own community.
Loudest is the cry of hypocrisy; a cry that is certainly warranted given Craig’s staunch opposition to equal rights. He’s about as conservative as they get. Without fail, time and time again, Craig has voted against our families on important legislation.
Hypocrite or not, many people have sympathized with Craig - even in our own community. How many of us made fun of gays in high school so that we wouldn’t be picked on ourselves? How many of us had boyfriends or girlfriends so that people wouldn’t question our sexuality? It’s a time of inner conflict and fear. Granted, making a gay joke isn’t nearly as harmful as voting against ENDA, but still… a parallel does exist.
But there’s also a lot of outrage being directed towards the Minneapolis police department. These type of “bag the fag” operations have long been used to harass and shame gays. A lot of individuals and organizations have spoken out against these tactics.
And as gay parents, many of us are torn. We don’t want police singling out and targeting gay men. But on the other hand, we don’t want lewd behavior occurring in a place where our children might see it. It’s a tough call and there’s no easy answer.
With all the publicity and media hoopla surrounding this scandal, I think that it is important, as parents, to recognize the less obvious victims of the situation. Our hearts certainly go out to Craig’s three children in what must certainly be a difficult and trying time for them and their family.
Filed in children, general, politics |
“And as gay parents, many of us are torn. We don’t want police singling out and targeting gay men. But on the other hand, we don’t want lewd behavior occurring in a place where our children might see it. It’s a tough call and there’s no easy answer.”
actually, as a gay parent, i am not torn at all.
about Craig, i am THRILLED (not titillated!) that the raging hypocrisy of the most conservative of republicans is unveiled yet again (Haggard, Foley, Allen and countless others yet to be discovered).
i only hope that CNN and other news outlets give this half the coverage they gave Anna Nicole’s saga and Bill Clinton’s blow job. the country apparently needs a sex scandal to grab its attention. oh, please, oh please, let this be one of the final nails in the GOP’s rotten coffin!
Craig and his ilk aren’t just hypocrites, they are the white, middle-aged, unbearably rich powerbrokers who’ve spawned and cultivated a dangerous movement against us. they won’t be satisfied only to ostracize us as gay people, but ultimately, and make no mistake about it, codify our illegitimacy as parents and families. and those politicians who have no genuine interest in vilifying gays, per se, are still willing to pander to a “base” of bigots who will, if they have their way, theocratize this country as soon as look at ya.
and about anonymous sex in bathrooms, i am also not torn. i bet that police would run sting operations in co-ed bathrooms if they could, if there were any. sex in public is inappropriate. gay sex or not.
it’s even more inappropriate in airports, since travel today is about as uncomfortable as it has been in modern times. do i really need to be delayed for three hours, having lost my luggage, subjected to airport food and incessant “security measures” with half-mile long lines in the blazing sun (LAX, anyone?) all for my own good and THEN listen to people get it on while i pee? no. (let’s not even talk about traveling with children.)
come to think of it: i call on the Capitol Police to set up a sting operation in the Capitol bathrooms and catch all the hypocrites!!!
How come men having sex in bathrooms is always some married who denies he is gay? Maybe if all gay men were happy with who they were and not in the closet and afraid of themselves they would be happy having sex in their bedroom with a person they loved and not in an airport bathroom.
These are the same white guys who make the laws against us and then want to give oral sex in an airport bathroom. This guy is a hyprocrite, like many others!
Great comments from MK and Harriet.
A little sympathy, within the gay community, for Senator Larry Craig? I think finding that sympathy may be as illusive as Senator Larry Craig trying to find the “alledged” piece of toilet paper on the restroom floor. No such toilet paper existed. Maybe a microscopic thread of toilet paper was on the restroom floor, but it clearly wasn’t visible to the “NAKED” eye.
Yes, the Minneapolis Police Department was, and is, targeting gays. Undoubtedly someone within the police department is getting a few jollies entrapping gays. Police departments also entrap gays in parks, which is much more common than restroom entrappment. When the the names are printed in the paper, suicide is not uncommon. Some of these entrapped men are married and some do become extremely depressed. A secretive part of their lives is exposed of which they do not want exposed to their wives, employers, and children. Of course their jobs are in jeopardy and their marriages are in jeopardy.
Should police departments focus so much energy on entrappment? No! Don’t you think speeding on an inner city freeway is more of a danger to children? I do!
I echo MK’s sentiments. I’m thrilled beyond measure. Restroom entrappment is a hate crime and Senator Larry Craig is a victim of a hate crime targeting gays. How lovely! How appropriate that an anti-gay senator, a senator with a past history of voting against hate crimes, is now a victim of one himself.
How does it feel Senator Larry Craig to be a victim of a hate crime? At least he didn’t end up in a hospital like some hate crime victims do. I’m thrilled that Senator Larry Craig ended up on national TV. How lovely! I hope an ambulence was parked near the Boise Wells Fargo bank, just in case if Senator Larry Craig tripped on one of his lies and injured his back.
I forget to express my sympathy to all of the Minnesota families that lost loved ones due to the bridge collapse.
I lost a loved one in an instant and I couldn’t say goodbye.
I wonder if Senator Larry Craig has thought of these Minnesota families? His police entrapment arrest pales in comparison to the loss of these families.
I also wonder if the police officer, the one sitting on the airport toilet waiting to entrap the next victim, thought of Senator Larry Craig as he watched the events of this monumental trajedy unfold. I doubt it.
Hopefully, police entrapment should be an issue that’s openly discussed. If there wasn’t homophobia, our tax dollars wouldn’t be allocated for police entrapment.
No homophobia; no sham marriages. No beards! Beards should only be facial hair and not a person that accompanies a person to office parties, political conventions, etc. to convey and project a heterosexual identity.