Do you think Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's arrest in a sting was fair or not, and why?

Question

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's arrest stemming from lewd conduct in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.
Some people say a police sting is set up to catch people on purpose.
To me they wouldn’t be catching people if they weren’t doing it!
I would say a sting is unfair entrapment if the police officer (plainclothes) initiated contact and did things to encourage continued contact by the subject. However if the police officer did not initiate or encourage continued contact. I think the officer was doing his/her job for a reported problem. I don’t think that would be leading anyone on!
Isn’t it better for a police officer to arrest someone doing that (as long as they did not initiate or lead the other person on. Or maybe some people would prefer instead of a police officer, a 10 or 12 year old boy in the next stall!
I can’t imagine any parent (unless they were a child molester themselves) wanting that. Or anyone (except a child molester) wanting that to be the case.
I have read some that talked about foot tapping and like that. I am sure the officer could tell the difference in whether it was accidental or on purpose. From what I have read it wasn’t just foot tapping or brushing a foot in the next stall, there were several very convincing actions for the police officer to come to the conclusion.
All I can say to that police officer, “Thank-you very much for trying to make our public bathrooms safer for OUR CHILDREN! Thank-You Very Much!!!
Maybe the Idaho Senator (Larry Craig) isn’t gay, however some people that say they are STRAIGHT like to be ‘serviced’ by gay people. In a public bathroom is very low for someone that ‘services’ or ‘gets serviced’! Like I read one post... GET A ROOM, and there are many other ways to connect (besides public restrooms, parks, etc.)
That’s the way I feel!!!

Answer 1

The security officer was in the Men's room because of complaints of somebody soliciting homosexual acts. It may well have been the Boise Bomber that triggered the complaints.

Investigating a complaint is in no guise entrapment.

My God, listen to the neocon perverts squeal when one of them is outed.

Answer 2

Wow. I still can't believe that this happened. It's disgusting either way...that we actually have a job title in the US of undercover "sex prevention in public restrooms" officer. Pheww. I don't know what the world is coming to these days. I listened to the audio of the cop and Craig and to me it seemed just strange. I didn't really get the sense that Craig did something outrightly wrong but he sure didn't sound like a totally innocent bathroom-goer. He got really defensive and if he does indeed do this stuff...he really sounds like someone who is sickly and in extreme denial. That was pretty obvious. He plead guilty...why did he do that? The cop was pretty pressing...with very little evidence.. which was pretty strange. He was a bit unfair but I think he was probably right on and that would be a tough job. I think he did good in persisting but he may have been a little too coercive. I think it is important that these people be caught. If they are out and doing this in public places it is very degenerative for our society and just plain sick. I hope that this senator gets removed from his office and gets some help for denial and for the behavior. He is probably suffering from some extension of abuse in his past or low self-esteem. He is a person too..not quite a monster...but there isn't really a very thin line between the two. Hopefully he gets some help.

Answer 3

First of all, it wasn't a sting or entrapment. The officer did not solicit sex with Sen. Craig. In fact, the police officer went into the bathroom to investigate complaints from civilians for lewd conduct. Sen. Craig was peeping through the Officer's stall while he was taking care of business and looked down to his hands and fidgeted with them and continued to look at the officer. He went into a stall next to the officer and did "common gay acts" that initiate sex. Such as, putting his foot next to him, placing his roller bag in front of the stall door, and placing his hands underneath the Officer's stall. The officer was aware of the "common gay acts" that solicit sex and arrested Sen. Craig for doing so.
How is it entrapment or sting, if Sen, Craig initiated everything from the beginning?
Sen. Craig is a sick man and soon the truth will come out. I am not sure if you've heard the audio tape of the arrest but it's clear that he is guilty. The only reason he is taking back his plea is because he is embarrassed that this went public. Keep in mind that it was kept secret for so long until now. Therefore, he feels it's necessary to fight back to defend his reputation. I think he is a hypocrite and should be punished for his sick acts.

Keep in mind, public restrooms should kept safe for our fellow children and innocent civilians.

Answer 4

I think it was fair, and his explanation that he made a mistake when he pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the incident is BUNK. He should have known what he was doing when he pleaded guilty, and if he didn't, then he can not be trusted with the responsibility of being a United States Senator, having exhibited such poor judgement.

Frankly, from reading the detective's report, I think he' s guilty. There are just too many details for it to have been made up. Besides, what police officer in their right mind would falsely arrest a United States Senator.

Answer 5

Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, expressed surprise that Sen. Larry Craig has been forced to
relinquish his committee assignments in light of this week's revelations that he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection with an attempted sexual encounter with an undercover officer in a Minneapolis airport restroom.

"Senator Ted Stevens maintains his position on the Appropriations Committee despite being the subject of a major criminal investigation, including an FBI raid on his Alaska home and Senator David Vitter maintains his assignments despite admitting to the crime of soliciting a prostitute."

Sloan noted that in response to CREW's calls for Sen. Stevens to step down from his position on the Senate Appropriations Committee where he has jurisdiction over the Department of Justice's budget, Senate Minority Leader Mitchell McConnell demurred, defending Sen. Stevens. Sloan continued, "A disorderly conduct plea requires a member to give up his committee assignment, but a full-fledged bribery investigation does not. Apparently, in the view of the Republican conference there is almost nothing more serious than a member attempting to engage in gay sex."

"For consistency's sake, Senators Stevens and Vitter should both be forced to give up their committee assignments as well."

Answer 6

Craig deserves all of the humiliation that's coming to him. I'm a conservative and this really ticks me off. Now he'll probably be run out of office because he deserves to be but it strikes me funny that the standards we hold Republicans to aren't applied to Democrats.

What happened to Barney Franks when it was discovered that a gay prostitution ring was being run from his house? He got reelected.

Answer 7

If I were a liberal, I suppose I would argue vehemently that Craig's arrest was unfair because it prevented him from pursuing his rights as a gay American.

But that is not what the libbies seem to be saying. Who can comprehend the liberal mind? On the one hand they are all for gay rights, and then they are not for gay rights. I guess I can see why flip-flopper John Kerry was so popular in that camp.

Answer 8

I think that if it's true he should have been arrested. However, I do not think it was nesseccary to make it a public matter. He really didn't hurt anybody and the police officer was acting like someone who would solicit that type of action.

Answer 9

Hell yes, it was a fair sting.

The police didn't have prior knowledge that Craig was coming to the airport and then ambushed him on purpose.

Like you wrote, he should have been more discrete about it. Which is probably why Bush hired Jeff Gannon off the internet, instead of cruising public restrooms. (probably would have been too difficult to find a hook up with the Secret Service trailing him everywhere anyway).

Answer 10

Now, me? I'm a rather strict --under libertarian principles-- law & order kinda guy and that people should be allowed to do as they please so long as.... well, you know how us libertarians think. I believe that when I enter a stall in a public lavatory I am entitled to PRIVACY. . Privacy from BOTH law-enforcement AND guys cruising for sex.

The detective obviously wouldn't have been assigned to "men's room-detail" had there not been complaints from citizens--or was he in there actually dropping a turd?

Answer 11

Agree with Don C. Somebody looks in my stall, they get pummeled. This guy is lucky he didn't catch a beating from someone.

He knew what he was doing. Have you ever been a stall and decided to play footsie with the person in the next stall? Hell no. Or put your hands under the other stall? Nope.

His actions were clearly his own choice, initiated by him, not the officer. No entrapment. He thought George Michael was in the next stall; he thought wrong.