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Tearoom Privacy, Politics & the Police By Jesse Monteagudo
This was not the first time that Logan, 44, challenged the powers that be. The handsome African-American activist and politician already had a distinguished record as a community activist and mayor of Opa-Locka when he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1982. Logan rose through the Democratic caucus and was slated to become House Democratic leader in 1998. But Logan's fellow Democrats put politics above principles and voted to replace Logan with a more "mainstream" (that is, white) candidate. This obviously racist vote led to a rift between Logan and his party and eventually to his independent Senate bid. Nor did the Democrats benefit from this disgraceful move. Florida voters, who prefer real Republicans to would-be Republicans, sent large GOP majorities to the State Legislature. Logan is not the kind of guy who would shy away from publicity. But on March 24th Logan received the kind of "publicity" he would rather do without. That day Logan was caught up in a sting operation conducted by Miami-Dade police officers against public sex in Haulover Park. Haulover, known the world over as a "nude beach", is also featured in several Web sites that specialize in public sex. Dade police, after responding to "numerous complaints" about sex in Haulover men's rooms, set up the sting operation. The cops did not target Logan, who was only one of seven men arrested on March 24th. However, unlike Logan, the six other men arrested have the benefit of anonymity, and will probably be able to return to some sort of normal lives after a plea bargain and a 12-week "Sexual Adult Education Class".
Willie Logan is not the first man to be caught in a sting operation against public or semi-public sex. Since 1845 hundreds of men of all sexual orientations have been the victims of Florida's attempts to enforce its screwy sex laws. These are laws that, if properly enforced, would criminalize most of the State's adult and teen population. Police officers, eager to do their part, often resort to entrapment, harassment and false imprisonment. Nor do the cops hesitate to break the laws themselves. In Logan's case, the arresting officer had to peep through a glory hole in order to see Logan "masturbating" inside a closed stall. Though Logan, who by the way is married with children, argued that he went to Haulover to play golf, the cop presumed Logan was in the john for sexual purposes and proceeded to arrest him. The police, charged Logan's attorney Larry R. Handfield, readily assume "that anyone who goes in that restroom is there to engage in sexual activity when the assumption should be they are there just to use the restroom." Public sex is against the law, and anybody who has public sex does it at his own risk. But is a closed bathroom stall "public"? I don't think so. Nor does the American Civil Liberties Union, according to Florida ACLU President Howard Simon: "I don't know how they [the cops] have the authority to spy in one of the few areas in the world where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy," Simon says. Because of this development, the police now say that Logan's stall door was open at the time, a charge that Loan hotly denies. With conservatives in firm control of the State government, it's a safe bet that Florida's antiquated sex laws will remain on the books for a long time. In the meantime, overzealous police officers will continue to use the laws as an excuse to arrest and harass residents, transients and tourists whether they are guilty or not. Referring to the Haulover sting, police spokesman Ed Munn admits that "on any busy weekend, we make about 30 arrests a day there", and they will no doubt continue to do so. "God knows how many other people have been there in the past using the facility for the purpose for which it was intended only to be the victims of police spying, and how many more will be spied on in the future," said the ACLU's Simon. Logan is a fighter, but he is only fighting for himself. Who will fight for the "ordinary" victims of police entrapment and harassment? Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer who lives in South Florida with his domestic partner. He can be reached at jessemonteagudo@aol.com |
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