In the Age of Terror, Isn't Busting Toe-Tappers an Insane Use of Our Law Enforcement Resources?

In the consensus judgment of America's 16 intelligence agencies, the terrorist threat to our homeland is "persistent and evolving," placing our country in "a heightened threat environment."

Given that chilling assessment, isn't it the height of madness to use America's finite law enforcement resources to seek out and arrest people for tapping the foot of a cute undercover officer in a restroom?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not wild about walking into a public restroom and seeing a couple using the a stall for something other than, as Sgt. Dave Karsnia, the arresting officer in the Craig case put it, "its intended use."

But that is not what Larry Craig did. If he had, someone in the restroom could have done what most people do when they see a law being broken: go get a cop.

And as it happens, since Craig was arrested in an airport, presumably there were plenty of law enforcement officers nearby looking for, you know, real threats -- like explosives or folks on a Watch List. Assuming, that is, they weren't all hunkered down in other bathrooms across the airport, protecting the public against people who might be thinking about having sex.

Let me be clear: I'm no fan of Larry Craig. Indeed, I disagree with almost everything he stands for. And I'd much rather he not be in the United States Senate. But I'd also rather have had his exit be the result of his constituents voting on his ideas and policies, instead of a ridiculous sting operation in an airport bathroom.

At least it's nice to see that, while the cable networks have been giving the incident their usual nuanced treatment, bloggers across the political spectrum have taken a step back to look at the real issues here.

Garance Franke-Ruta of The American Prospect asks: "Was there anything criminal about Sen. Larry Craig's gestures if they suggested a desire for consensual lewd behavior of some kind with the man in the adjacent restroom stall?" Her answer: no.

Conservative University of Minnesota law professor Dale Carpenter, blogging at the Volokh Conspiracy, agrees with her:

"Disorderly conduct is a notoriously nebulous crime, allowing police wide discretion in making arrests and charges for conduct or speech that is little more than bothersome to police or to others."

As Carpenter and Franke-Ruta both point out, soliciting someone to have sex with you is not a crime in Minnesota. If Craig had solicited someone, which then led to a round of bathroom sex, then yes, arrest them. But that's not what happened.

It's unsettling that more people here in the land of the free aren't at all discomfited at leaving it up to the prognostication skills of Sgt. Karsnia and his crack team of B-men to determine what crimes people might have committed if not for the mind-reading and daring-do of Minneapolis' Special Forces Bathroom Unit.

Conservative pundit Mark Steyn thinks that Craig was up to no good, but says, "Karsnia sounds just as weird and creepy: a guy who's paid to sit in a bathroom stall for hours on end observing adjoining ankles. I'd rather hand out traffic tickets."

But beyond them being weird and creepy, these kinds of stings also have a huge opportunity cost to them. There clearly are very serious potential threats to our safety to be found in airports -- outside of bathroom stalls. Is sending Sgt. Karsnia into the men's room to spend all day trying to get other men to look at him and tap his foot really the best way to use our limited law enforcement resources?

And just how much money is Minneapolis/St. Paul spending on sting operations like this one? Just since May, 40 men have been arrested on allegations of illegal sexual activity at the same airport. And how much taxpayer money in total is being allocated across the country by local police to protect us from people whom the Sgt. Karsnias of the world think might, at some point, commit a crime?

We at HuffPost are working to pull these numbers together by calling local police departments all across America, since the numbers don't seem to be readily available. We'd love your help on this; please send us any figures or worthwhile information you can find (post them in the comments section below or email [e-mail]).

Here's another question to ask: does the Minneapolis police force look around its members for officers they think might be attractive to gay men? Or do they specifically search out recruits who would make good undercover "twinks," "bears," and "silver foxes"?

And, yes, I know, Sen. Craig pleaded guilty. But given the inevitable humiliation that would have ensued had he challenged this arrest, it's not hard to imagine that he felt he had no other choice. The same goes for the thousands of other men who have been snared in these wasteful sting operations.

But those of us who prefer that our public servants go after actual lawbreakers rather than use our resources to humiliate gay people do have a choice. And we should make it clear that we want our police going after terrorists -- not toe-tappers.

Since the news about Craig broke, the media focus has been on his sexual perversions -- it's time to turn the spotlight on the perverted priorities of America's law enforcement community.

Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff

Comments

[chelle528]

As the mother of a 10 year old boy, I do not think this is a waste of resources. Every time my oldest son has to go to the bathroom, I sit with a sick stomach watching the bathroom door.I ask myself if he is taking to long, should I yell in the door for him, should I send someone in to look for him. Nor do I want him walking in on something inapproprate for a ten year old to observe. I believe in live and let live, but there is such a thing as decency.This is not limited to homosexual behavior,I would not want my children to walk into a man and a woman involved in inapropriated behavior either.This is something that needs to be policed

[PatA]

Think of it this way, hypocrisy for the sake of it harms America. Look where we're at now due to the right winged Christian terrorists like Craig.
I support the bust due to the fact that he is a two-faced senator who has added on to the pain of a segment of Americans. They get very little relief and it sure doesn't help America to have a senator who lies one day about what he, himself, does behind closed doors.

[susie1776]

Sorry Arianna but this time I have to disagree with you. A friend in Minneapolis tells me there is a very good reason why the police have targeted this restroom at the airport. They have had numerous complaints. Local police are there to respond to local concerns. Not everything is part of the global war on terror. I don't want to send my young son into an airport bathroom to possibly be a target of some guy like Craig. Let's face it. He's a CREEP and deserved to be arrested.

[QueenOfViolets]

Children use these restrooms too. I can't believe she wrote this whole article and neglected to mention the existence of children.

I'm very liberal and pro-gay and all that, but when children are at risk of being exposed to adult bathroom sex, I want the police there and I want the adults who indulge in this habit to be arrested.

By the way, I am against the War on Drugs. I have a lot of libertarian sympathies.

I draw the line at public restroom sex. It's not just about consenting adults. If it were really just about consenting adults, then they would find a place to have sex where they wouldn't risk being discovered by a child.

[bbln]

ummm, so during tough times, our law enforcement is supposed to be selective about what's important and not important to enforce? So, people who run red lights or shoplifters (or disturbing the peace in public bathrooms)are just too frivolous for our law enforcement to care about "in this age of terror?" One of the police officers overseeing this operation said "we enforce all laws" - and that's their job.

[Oheck]

I'm glad the cops are cleaning the bathrooms of these creeps... when my son was little and was just learning to read ... after leaving a public toilet we had been in a he asked me what a blow job was.. he had seen it written on the wall.. how do you explain THAT to an 9-10 year old??? what if the creep was also a pedophile?? still in the toilet "cruising"??? again like other posts.. they wouldn't have been there if there wasn't a problem and complaints

[NebulaNox]

Police arresting toe-tappers, private citizens subjects to wire tappers, the military so tapped out that they can't provide proper armor to our young men and women engages in "The Surge," so much tapping this is starting to sound like an Edgar Allen Poe story. End digression.
If this is another example of our tax dollars at work, maybe it's time for a tax strike. Unless and until tax dollars are spent for what the people need - health care, education, worker retraining, good armor for our military (whether or not I agree with how they are deployed), infrastructure restoration and upgrading, homeless rehabilitaton, upgrading care at Veterans medical facilities nationwide, and so forth - perhaps they shouldn't have any tax dollars to spend on infringing civil liberties and other such frivolities, hmmm......

[Guitarsandmore]

Senator Craig wants to know if it’s OK to diddle the people you are supposed to be protecting. Can a man who represents family values go out and fool around once in awhile and still not be a Democrat? Right now this elephant is starting to look like a jack ass.

[escobar]

When there is a problem like this is is common for the cops to try to clean it up.
What about the women traveling with children?
If the little boy has to pee she can't go in with him.
If he goes in alone, he would be subject to the good Senator or some other pervert.
Doesn't say much for the City, Airport authority, or police if they let this go on. They have to nip it in the bud.
They certainly don't sit there all day but even so, they carry radios. There are plenty of TSA(thousands standing around). The cops could be standing in the hallway with them or sitting in the donut shop as the Senator and his pals get their freak on to the dismay of the general public.
The cops did the right thing.
These pigs should go get a room.

[waxwings]

I agree with everything you said Arrianna (as usual).

I do also think, however, that for many of us the outrage isn't about breaking some trivial law, it's that the person breaking it is a member of a group that has chosen to make a major campaign plank out of persecuting homosexuals; in other words, it's the hypocrisy (as usual).

[jahbreeze]

As much as I enjoy the Huffington post, I have to disagree with Arianna here. Aren't they spending enough "Law enforcement resources" on terrorism in the Minnesota airport? Are you saying that those excruciating security check lines are really necessary or even effective? I don't think the Minnesota airport, or any US airport, needs to worry about not spending enough "Law enforcement resources" to catching terrorists. While being the cop on the crapper may not be the most enviable job, it may at least make a few bathrooms more comfortable (at least 40 exhibitionists are out of the stalls). If you've never been in an airport bathroom, those places need all the attention they get.

[Nydoj]

Arianna - If you had young sons, rather than daughters, I think you opinion would be different! It is downright creepy that you can't send your young son into the public restroom at the airport w/o worrying about him being peeped on or solicited for sex.

The other part of this that is so bothersome is that again we have another hypocritical Republican saying one thing in public and then doing the exact opposite of what he is condemning in public. And if you don't think that Larry was guilty of soliciting gay sex in the men's room at the airport, what about the fact that he attempted to use his position of authority to special treatment when he was arrested!

[Daniel66]

Well, I hope Senator Craig will keep fighting for his innocence not only because he committed no crime but because this whole side-show will keep the Republican leadership frothing at the mouth.

[mbaty]

For shame! So many people are trying to keep us ashamed...of our bodies, of our feelings, of anything having to do with genitals. Shame is what drove Craig to the bathroom--there are bathhouses, and men online, and adult bookstores with theatres, but none of those places are nearly as anonymous as an airport bathroom. Perhaps it was his karma to be caught, to become one of the men he legally advocated against not very long ago (even if he denies it, as shame would dictate he do.) But there are two tradgedies here, and one of them is the police patrolling bathrooms for cruisy gay men--or otherwise using their authority to monitor relatively harmless consensual choices that people make. Only in America can people get all worked up about public sex--in other countries the fear is getting blown up, and public sex is clearly a better choice. To act like it's so terrible is backwards--and shameful. We see it on TV; why is it better that a scene devolves into violence than evolves into sexual activity? In that case, it's the FCC lurking in the stall, making sure you only only shake twice.

[robinlynne]

Might it be that he was arrested because he voted NO to the patriot act? And was considered a traitor by GWB?