A Sting He Didn't Deserve

By Aaron Belkin

Saturday, September 1, 2007; Page A25

If Sen. Larry Craig is guilty of a serious crime, you'd never know it from listening to the audiotape of his arrest or from reading his arrest record.

...Craig joins the growing list of people who have been charged with morals crimes for innocuous behavior...

...Society certainly has a right to uphold standards of public decorum, but increasing criminalization of harmless behavior opens up a space for injustice unevenly applied.

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Larry Craig fell victim to the same conceit of so many politicians before him--denying what is (or was) evident. Had Larry Craig merely made a statement that his sexual orientation was his own damned business, he might have survived. On the other hand, his years of gay-bashing didn't stand him in much stead.

As Barney Franks has proven, being gay doesn't preclude a political career, but being a phony is almost always fatal.

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