Amen to that

I've been feeling uncomfortable about this story ever since it came out, but was unable to enunciate why. This op-ed piece from the IHT manages to put my vague feelings into words. Money quote:

Public sex is certainly a public nuisance, but criminalizing consensual acts does not help. "The only harmful effects of these encounters, either direct or indirect, result from police activity," Humphreys wrote. "Blackmail, payoffs, the destruction of reputations and families, all result from police intervention in the tearoom scene." What community can afford to lose good citizens?

And for our part, let's stop being so surprised when we discover that our public figures have their own complex sex lives, and start being more suspicious when they self-righteously denounce the sex lives of others.

I get the sense that many Democrats are capitalizing on the story because it makes a Republican look bad. But using bigotry for partisan gain is just as ugly from both sides of the aisle.