Wednesday, June 05, 2002

Lawbreaker

It is against the law in the state of Missouri for gay people to have sex.

It's true. Missouri is one of a couple dozen states where consensual, same-sex sexual relations are a crime. It is particularly annoying, since the specific statute is part of a broader law criminalizing rape and the like, under the ominously titled "Sexual Misconduct Law".

(While gay people are sexual outlaws in the Show Me State, here is no law prohibiting bestiality in Missouri because it was not deemed to be a serious enough offense to warrant a punishment. Faggots bad, farm sex OK!)

In 1986, after the United States Supreme Court ruled, in the amusing to say Bowers v. Hardwick case, that there was, in essence, no right to personal privacy in the the land, a group of concerned citizens in Missouri set upon the task of overturning the gay sex prohibition portion of the Sexual Misconduct Law.

At one community meeting where various legislative strategies and tactics were debated I, who had been asked to lead a team brainstorming public relations and communications efforts, suggested only half in jest that we all just turn ourselves in.

That is, I proposed that we choose one day and encourage gay people throughout the state to swear out affidavits affirming that they had violated the law, then go to the police station and demand to be arrested. Law enforcement, we would contend, could hardly fail to uphold the law. (If nothing else, I thought, this campaign would appeal to those who, while not generally considering themselves "activists" at least held a uniform or handcuff fetish.) The resulting volume of "criminals" would temporarily overwhelm the system and, as a consequence -- because you know I'd call the media -- call attention to the utter absurdity of the law.

I suggested we call it a "Day of Civil Obedience".

Unfortunately, the idea didn't catch on and today, over 15 years later, the offensive law is still on the books. Although seldom enforced, it is nonetheless trotted out all the time to justify not enacting gay civil rights legislation. After all, the reasoning goes, if gay sex is a crime, why should criminals be granted equal rights with law-abiding folk?

Still, every June -- the traditional month when gay and lesbian pride is celebrated throughout the land -- I think somewhat nostalgically of myself at that time, so confident that bold, brazen acts would bring down the walls, and I consider swearing out an affidavit just for myself.

It's the sort of thing I could fold up, stick in my pocket and present as credentials at the various bars, nightclubs, baths and other gay emporia. "Hey baby," I could say, whipping out my papers. "I'm a sexual outlaw. Wanna come back to my place and help me violate RSMo. 556.090?"

When's the last time you heard that pick-up line?