NEW YORK – The website CruisingForSex.com has mounted a campaign to make gay and bisexual men more aware of the legal pitfalls of semi-public sex during the month when television news frequently focuses on that topic.
During “Cruiser Beware Month,” CruisingForSex.com will employ a combination of online tools, including Twitter, to help users remain on guard and stay out of jail.
“May not only is the time of year when the weather heats up and more guys head to the bushes for action, but it is also a major ‘sweeps month’ for local television,” said Keith Griffith, who founded CruisingForSex.com 12 years ago. “Sweeps is the time local media often finds itself in bed with the cops to carry out sting operations of men cruising for sex.
“Just last week we got a report from a Bakersfield, Calif., location where one customer saw not just cop cars and a cop van parked outside, but also a news van for a local television station. I’m sure it was a joint sting in which the media gets to film and photograph those men cops arrest. In fact, I would not be surprised to learn a reporter instigated the whole thing, asking the police to come along so they could get some good footage.
“Media started noticing our website back in 1998, and every year it has become almost like a ritual to target cruising during sweeps month,” Griffith added. “Local TV needs ratings, and men who want to have consensual sex with one another end up paying for their profit gain.”
To help men avoid trouble, Griffith said CruisingForSex.com will tweet instant alerts. Users may follow the thread at Twitter.com/cruisingforsex. In addition, the site has posted legal opinions in answer to commonly asked questions. Lawyers from Florida, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois and California participated in the legal Q&A, but Griffith said the information is useful for men in all 50 states.
The site also offers a political primer containing helpful tips for arguing against the criminalization of public sex.
“The double standard of how laws are applied is especially galling to see,” Griffith said. “Esquire and New York magazines recently did stories glamorizing public sex, but of course their audience was mostly straight, and for heterosexual sex this is nothing more than pleasure. For men cruising other men, you can have your life ruined if you get caught.”
Griffith contrasted mainstream media “puff pieces” about heterosexual public sex and recent police actions like the one in which 16 Oklahoma City men were arrested in a public park. After the arrests, each man’s photograph and name were published in local media.
“Public sex is either a crime for all of us or it should not be for any of us,” Griffith averred. “Obviously we at CruisingForSex wish America would try a more rational approach to people who prefer consensual sex outside the confines of their bedrooms.”
CruisingForSex.com keeps tabs on public sex venues and offers a worldwide database of hookup spots for men.
