ceilirose

Craig: I did nothing 'inappropriate' in airport bathroom - CNN.com

You can read all the details in the link. Besides the story of a person who preaches one lifestyle but allegedly lives another - you have to wonder why it took over two months for this to become news. An arrest is a matter of public record or at least I assumed that.

Indian Summer

I don't really think it's an issue of preaching one lifestyle and living another, at least not beyond the surface. Obviously, that's what he's doing, but... that's his job. When you're a Senator or Representative, you're supposed to be voting on bills and passing legislation in the way your state or district would want you to... not based on your individual feelings. Obviously, that will play a part, but it's a Congressman's job to represent the voters, not to push through what he wants himself, even if that does happen all too often.

I couldn't care less about whether he's gay or straight though. It's neither here nor there.

ceilirose

I don't care whether he's gay or straight either but you do have to be honest to yourself and to your constituents at some point. Far beyond whatever his sexual orientation is - he advocates a very conservative lifestyle and this incident doesn't reflect that.

However if you read that link his explanation of what happened is almost comical. Will it come to be known as the "wide stance" defense?

It's more disturbing that it happened in June (a Senator being arrested) and we're hearing about in late August. He's a sitting US Senator who pleaded guilty and committed a crime and we're just hearing about it now? This isn't a good thing.

Jacob1983

This guy is an idiot. He should have either left this whole matter alone and not make a big deal about it like he has now or he should have pleaded not guilty when he was originally charged of the crime.

Didn't this guy get arrested for tapping his foot or moving his hands in a bathroom? I don't understand how that's a crime or how it can be taken for a signal that you want to pay for sex.

This guy's political career is toast. He might as well just pack up and get out before it gets worse.

He should just agree to take a polygraph to test if he is gay or straight. The testers could show him some pics of men and women and record his reactions to the pictures. I believe some police departments do that when dealing with pedophiles. He sounded very defensive when he said that he wasn't gay. If he's gay, then the man should be honest about it. If he's straight, then he should be honest about it. This guy shouldn't be lying about whether he is gay or straight. Then again, he is in politics and lying is the norm there.

migamoo

From here: 'Reports state that police Sgt. Dave Karsnia was investigating allegations of sexual conduct in Minneapolis airport restrooms when he went into a stall. The complaint against Craig alleged that he employed "a signal often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct."'

Jacob1983

This whole story is pretty stupid. People just want to have something to talk about I guess. I still don't understand how tapping your foot or messing with your hands would be taken as wanting sex. I've never understood why any person would want to have sex in a restroom especially a public one. Seems kinda nasty, rude, and gross to me.

Isn't a person legally suppose to have a lawyer or attorney present when entering a plea? I thought that was required in America because the lawyer or attorney looks over the plea agreement and make sure it's proper and legal.

I don't see why this senator is making such a big deal about it. It's like he is just drawing attention to himself. I mean it's not like he had to go to jail or anything. Didn't he only have to pay a fine for his dirty deed?

migamoo

Everyone has the right to a lawyer yes, it's even mentioned in Miranda Rights. But that doesn't mean everyone goes through a lawyer. This is why you have people who end up representing themselves. Did Craig have a lawyer present? I don't know for sure.

ceilirose

Craig looked or peered through a crack in the bathroom stall at someone who was apparently relieveing himself.

I'm sorry but if that's not a crime I don't know what is. Would anyone posting here won't that done to them and not have that person arrested?

ETA - I don't think he had a lawyer present because he hept this to himself. He didn't tell his staff or his family. This story really is getting into bizarre territory.

Jacob1983

What if a person inadvertently or accidentally sees through the crack of a stall? Just because a person accidentally sees another person through crack of a stall in the bathroom does not make it a crime. I mean, I see people through the cracks of the stalls all the time when I'm on the can in the restroom. Is that a crime? Nope. It's just an inadvertent thing. Sometimes when I walk in a restroom to pick a stall to use, I may accidentally see someone in a stall. Am I doing it on purpose? No. Do I want to see someone in a stall? Nope, but it happens and it's not a pretty sight.
It's kinda weird if you just stare at someone when they use the bathroom.

If the senator was like touching or grabbing himself when he peaked for a look then it would be a crime in my opinion.

ceilirose

Please..no normal person stops and peers through a crack in the stall and that's what was done. I'm not going to say alleged because he pleaded guilty.

Indian Summer

How do you "accidentally" see through a crack in a stall? I don't know about you, but I'm not staring at the cracks in a bathroom stall, and it doesn't seem like this was just a quick glimpse and look away if he was caught in the act.

And it doesn't seem to me like he tapped his foot. I'd say his actions would be more on par with a wink or a "come hither" type finger motion. Or something dirtier, of course.

Jacob1983

I'm talking about accidentally seeing through the cracks when you're trying to pick a stall. Sometimes you have to peek through the cracks to tell if the stall is being used because some stalls are huge and you can't just simply look at the person's feet. If you don't ever look at the stalls in a public restroom, then how do you use the bathroom? Now if you're a guy, you can use the urinals but if you're a lady you have to use the stalls.

This senator should just come out and admit if he's a homosexual or a straight guy. And he can't read it off a stript or anything. If he's gay, then fine. If he's straight, then fine. He just needs to be honest about what he is. It's not fair to his wife and family for him to be pretending to be straight if he is really gay.

Indian Summer

The doors are open, so you can either see it's open, or you give it a little push?

Regardless, we obviously aren't talking about a quick glimpse in this case... and can we please not get into yet another thread of "gays need to alert the rest of the world to their status!" stuff? If he's gay, that should be a private issue between him and his family.

Jacob1983

Public restroom stall doors aren't always opened. Some people think it's cool to lock the doors from the inside and crawl under to get out. Trust me, I've seen people do it before and it's not cool. Sometimes you have to make sure if a stall is being used or not.


This isn't about people identifying their sexual orientation to the world. This man is a senator who has been against gay marriage and gay rights for a long time and if he is a homosexual then he's a hypocrite and a liar. He's definately not living up the oath he took when he was sworn in to be a senator.
Trust me, if the man is gay, it will be public. Ya wanna know why? Because he is a politican. Nothing is private when you're a politician. People will dig and dig until they find something either bad or embarassing about you and will reveal it.


For the record, I believe that all human beings gay, straight, and bi should be honest about their sexual orientation. There is no need for Brokeback Mountain scenarios. It's not right or cool to make someone believe that you are straight when in fact you are gay and vice versa. If you're gay, don't pretend to be straight. If you're straight, don't pretend to be gay. This is 2007. People are a lot more accepting of gays than they used to be.

ceilirose

If he was honest about his sexual orientation (if he is indeed gay) he probably wouldn't have been elected - considering the state he represents.

Also I bend down and look under stalls to see if someone is in there. Doesn't everyone?