Gays in Baton Rouge arrested under invalid sodomy law

[Courtesy Flush]

Source: The Baton Rouge Advocate

As the two men moved their chat to a picnic table, the deputy propositioned his target with “some drinks and some fun” back at his place, later inquiring whether the man had any condoms, according to court records. After following the deputy to a nearby apartment, the man was handcuffed and booked into Parish Prison on a single count of attempted crime against nature.

There had been no sex-for-money deal between the two. The men did not agree to have sex in the park, a public place. And the count against the man was based on a part of Louisiana’s anti-sodomy law struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court a decade ago.

Read more: http://theadvocate.com/home/6580728-125/gays-in-baton-rouge-arrested

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I can understand why cops sometimes make arrests on the spot without a full understanding of the law -- they can't have every law stored in their heads at all times -- but this was a sting in which a coordinated effort was made to arrest people for something that is not illegal.

[NorthCarolina]

1. Isn't that considered entrapment? nt

[azbillyboy]

14. YEARS ago

the director of the Arizona ACLU told me entrapment is perfectly legal

[PatrynXX]

15. Entrapment

the movie. never forget the line no it's blackmail. Entrapment is what cops do to thieves, shouldn't be legal

[COLGATE4]

23. It's not legal entrapment unless you convince

someone to do something that they otherwise would not have done. Doesn't seem to be the case, here.

[backscatter712]

25. Not even a crime.

No money was exchanged, or offered to change hands.

The sex in question was not in a public place, it was to happen in a person's home.

It didn't involve anyone underage - all people involved were consenting (or in the case of the undercover cops, pretending to consent long enough to get an arrest)

FUCK THE BATON ROUGE PIGS!

[leveymg]

2. Thanks for posting. I didn't know this sort of entrapment for sodomy is still going on.

Unbelievable.

[marmar]

3. WTF?

[leftyohiolib]

4. they can't have every law stored in their heads at all times COMPLETELY DISAGAREE

if they intend to make arrests they'd better have all the laws in their heads

[WinkyDink]

6. EXACTLY. They at least had better da*n well know the law they propose to base an arrest on, FGS.

[shireen]

5. i see a lawsuit

i want to see an example made of those creeps. If they want to be ignorant fools, they should plan on paying big bucks for it.

[TNNurse]

7. Do the people of Baton Rouge

want their tax dollars going toward this??? I bet they are more interested in drugs, DUIs, home invasions, any violent crimes. I personally do not want my tax dollars going toward this kind of activity by the police. Apparently this officer felt this was a crime even though it is not. I think wearing your pants so I can see your underwear is offensive and stupid, but do people get arrested for it anywhere???? We do not get to make up our own rules.

[Moostache]

13. My first thought EXACTLY!

Where is the goddamn Taxed Enough Already Party NOW?!?!?!?!?

This is exhibit number ONE for why they are nothing more than a racist collection of fucking knuckle-draggers.
They are no more interested in "limited government" and "low taxes" than I am....which is to say not one bit.

This kind of blatant misuse of government/public resources is an outrage, yet the Michelle Malkins and Bill O'Reillys of the world will remain as blissfully unmoved by this as they are by useless, aggressive incursions into foreign wars. They are showing their asses without even realizing it, as usual.

[TNNurse]

18. Silly you

they are very happy when tax money is spent to impede the rights of people they do not like and who do things they do not like. They are OK with this, they are OK with transvaginal ultrasounds forced on women, they are not OK with marriage equality are fine with spending money to fight for what "they" believe.

[gvstn]

8. This is truly horrible!

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. Not only is there no law against "attempting to initiate sexual relations" in a park

as the police spokeswoman implied ('a park “is not the place to initiate or attempt to initiate sexual relations”'), but it was the deputy that did attempt to "initiate sexual relations".

“The issue here is not the nature of the relationship but the location,” she said. “These are not bars. These are parks. These are family environments.”

And if a man had come up to a family, and suggested sex with any adult in the family while a child was present, they might have a case for something being wrong. But the single adult deputy suggested sex to a single man.

Obviously it is some anti-gay witch-hunt on behalf of the police, but it's amazing they have the gall to stand there and claim they're enforcing any law.

[juajen]

10. OMG Louisiana!

[TreasonousBastard]

11. Amazing! Twelve of these stings and the DA refuses to prosecute any of them...

but they still arrest because "the law is on the books."

So now these guys have an arrest record that will follow them around.

Reading the article, it becomes clear that this park is a gay cruise area, which causes some uniformed heads to explode and leads to this sort of crap. Whilst some public sex arrests have been made over the years these stings are not just illegal, but pretty damn stupid.

[msongs]

12. sodomy is a religious concept. applying it violates the religious rights of non believers nt

[idwiyo]

16. Words fail.

[Iliyah]

17. God's law trumps man's law

simple but effective to those who believe that those that are "flawed" needs the intervention of the Devinne being. The same concept that allowed people to believe in slavery and that human beings were considered property while their gawd blessed slave ships and blessed slavery.

[hrmjustin]

19. Wow, just wow!

[theHandpuppet]

20. Beware history's knock at our door

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.

-- pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

[BVictor1]

21. Coming Soon to Virginia.....

[lib87]

27. Don't forget Texas & North Carolina

They are working hard a turning back the hands of time.

[Agschmid]

22. Frustrated kick...

[marctravis]

24. Thank you for posting this

I was coming here to post it. Glad to see it's already here. This is completely unacceptable and something needs to be done about it. I'm thinking an email to the Mayor is in order at the very least.

[Judi Lynn]

26. Doesn't even seem possible. Pure sadism. n/t

[Locrian]

28. whould it be insensitive

to say that the tax payer is the one that's *really* the one getting screwed?