Editor,
With the national discourse regarding Sen. Larry Craig's public humiliation - over a guilty plea related to solicitation of an undercover police officer in a public restroom - it's unfortunate that the Daily Lobo chose to respond with the sensational rather than through a measured and objective approach.
Craig is among a dying breed. Thankfully, society is now opening its arms to gay and lesbian citizens and allowing them to live openly. However, there are still people like Craig who fight to push gay people back into the shadows. When you don't allow people to live openly in the sunlight, you shouldn't be surprised to find those same people trying to survive in the shadows.
The truth is that the majority of men who are arrested for public sex with other men in bathrooms and other public places are self-identified straight men. Many are married. The problem of public and bathroom sex is not limited to one sexual orientation or another - it's a result of people seeking a thrill from the danger of it or from those who suffer from an inability to live an authentic life and publicly acknowledge themselves.
The Daily Lobo sensationalized and stereotyped an entire community based on the abhorrent behavior of a few individuals - most of whom don't consider themselves part of that community. Gay and lesbian citizens strive to live openly and authentically. When reporting on the problem of bathroom and public sex, the Daily Lobo was wrong to pin the problem on gay students. The problem is the result of deviant behavior by a few individuals who are either addicted to a thrill or unwilling to live openly. Gay students who live open, authentic and healthy lives are an asset to the community, and it was wrong on the part of the paper to vilify them. Gay UNM students deserve an apology from the
Daily Lobo.
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Christopher Salas
Equality New Mexico
