Is enforcing basic public decency laws homophobic? That’s what some prominent Democrats in New York City are claiming after federal law enforcement started cracking down on public sex, aka “cruising,” in Penn Station.
There’s been a rise in cruising in major cities, particularly among gay men, thanks to apps such as “Sniffies” that make it easier than ever to find strangers near you for encounters in random bathrooms or other public areas. But the flip side of these apps is that when you publicly broadcast what is often actually illegal activity, it is not, in fact, difficult for law enforcement to catch you if they want to. And that’s what’s playing out with the Amtrak police, a federal law enforcement agency, in New York City.
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“Figures show that in the first five months of the year there were just a handful of arrests for public lewdness in and around Penn Station in midtown Manhattan, a popular cruising spot, but since June close to 200 people had been detained by the transport police, Amtrak,” left-wing LGBT media outlet Pink News reports. “The arrests took place close to the train station entrance at Eighth Avenue and 31st Street, which is listed on gay hook-up app Sniffies.”
This really shouldn’t be controversial. While consenting adults should be able to engage in whatever sexual relationships they want to in a free society, even casual and fleeting encounters, they don’t have any right to do it in public places. That violates the privacy and consent of everyone else, who may not be particularly interested in hearing, seeing, or otherwise participating in these … activities. This is especially true in settings such as public bathrooms at train stations, where the potential harm “cruising” can have on others, such as a child who walks in, is obvious.
Do whatever you want, but not in public bathrooms.
But, apparently, some out-of-touch Democrats think that enforcing these basic standards of decency is “anti-LGBTQ.” Yes, seriously.
New York City Council Members Erik Bottcher and Tiffany Caban, who apparently lead the council’s “LGBTQ Caucus,” wrote a letter to Amtrak blasting it for this supposedly “unacceptable” crackdown and “targeting LGBTQ New Yorkers.”
Excuse me?
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It’s not “targeting LGBTQ New Yorkers” to arrest people who are having sex in public bathrooms. Most “LGBTQ” people do not engage in cruising and are not “discriminated against” by enforcing laws against it. (By the way, this is an issue involving gay men, not an “LGBTQ” issue. Something tells me none of the people getting arrested are lesbian or bisexual women.) And if the net impact of enforcing public decency laws primarily affects gay men — because they are primarily the ones committing the offenses — then that is not discrimination; it’s simply justice.
Of course, the city councillors also make allegations that officers are framing innocent people and using slurs on the job, and if those are true, those are valid concerns. But by condemning the entire crackdown and turning common sense into another round of victimhood Olympics, these Democratic officials are making themselves look out of touch — and giving all normal gay, lesbian, and bisexual people a bad name.
Brad Polumbo is an independent journalist and host of the Brad vs Everyone podcast.