Opinion | Baton Rouge entrap prostitutes or drug dealers – people who were actually breaking the law – but instead they were ordered to target a section of the community that is already quite vulnerable. I’ve been to small town America, and it really is an exercise in conservatism where to be different is to be ostracised. It is hard enough to be gay and out in some places, without being subjected to persecution too. This also reeks of hypocrisy. If Gautreaux has such an issue with homosexuality ,why get his apparently straight alpha male deputies to pose as gay men? Of course, since his methods were “outed” and greeted with outrage, it makes attempting to implement any more similar arrests impossible. But if someone has such an issue with a community they don’t generally leave it at
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that. Could there possibly be yet another obscure law that he could try to enforce in order to keep gay men off the streets? Law enforcement officers are supposed to look out for their entire community – not just those they deem decent citizens. Even lifelong criminals are innocent till proven guilty and entitled to justice and not prejudice – something not afforded to these men. If two adults consent to have sex, and no money changes hands, and nobody gets hurt, this is perfectly legal. The men arrested only did what I am sure many of the straight men in Baton Rouge do every weekend – they went out in the hopes of getting laid. It is a basic human instinct. Just because the gay community usually have fewer places to go to meet like
minded people, it doesn’t make it any less primal or normal. Gautreaux may think he was “protecting” the cities parks, but all he was doing was inciting stereotypes and hatred. Personally, I don’t think a man capable of such bigotry should be allowed to hold such a high profile office. Heaven forbid one of those gay men get queer bashed – would Gautreaux’s office be able to investigate it in an unbiased manner? It seems unlikely, which means he is not up to the job of serving and protecting all his citizens.