Why is it illegal to solicit sex in a public bathroom?

vs. in bars it’s completely legal

Somehow it offends women who never go there.

Because with the former people are trying to have sex in the bathroom which is public lewdness.

I presume it harks back to the days when cops would regularly pose as gay guys looking for a fuck only to swiftly arrest any willing volunteers.

If you want to arrest gays, just make something that some of them do illegal.

Do you want to sell Amway in there too?

They should fully enclose the stalls in the US and let people fuck if they want to. It's more private than fucking in a parking lot.

One reason is because children go into public bathrooms and not in bar bathrooms on private property.

Because little kids occasionally use public restrooms.

Because of the smell

[quote] vs. in bars it’s completely legal

I think that depends on the state/area. I think in most of the cities where I've lived, unless a place was registered as a private club (i.e. bathhouse) any sex in any place, even an adult bookstore, was considered breaking the law. I've hung out at bars where sex happened, but then at some point the bar was fined or busted.

I understand why it's not legal in restrooms. But it seems like it didn't used to be a problem.....in the 80s and 90s, most cruisy restrooms were not often near where kids and families congregated. You didn't cruise the busiest mens room in the mall, you'd go to the second story of the department store, that one way back in the corner, where if a guy was going in there, you pretty much knew why.

Public parks were/are a bit trickier, as kids families can always traipse through cruising grounds.

A lot of the secrecy around all of this got blown to bits with the Internet and sites like Cruising for Sex, and a huge chunk of it disappeared as a result.

Is against the law to "solicit" though? Lewd, indecency, etc. But actually just asking isn't against the law is it?

R11 That's a fine line and I think it depends on local law enforcement how it's approached.

Gay cruising was a famous thing that politicians during a campaign season.....or, in the 90s, local news stations during sweeps month.....would investigate as an example of crime, but then at other times they'd look the other way.

It’s ridiculous. If you’re actually having sex in front of anyone else, ANY age, yes that should be a crime. But any normal cruisers are very adept at not being seen by anyone. That’s the whole fucking point. So entrapping people is a heinous abuse of law enforcement.

Saw the movie “Plainclothes” last week and thought it was fantastic.

This thread reminds me of this old chestnut.

R2, no it offends straight male cops and politicians, that's why

Do lesbians go in for this? Were any lesbians ever arrested? Did police ever patrol ladies loos?

If you want the right to sex in public places then you'll have to put up with straights fucking everywhere. Fat, unwashed, noisy, inconsiderate straights. Is that what you want?

Because it is a public place, not a private one.

And the crime is not soliciting sex if you want to go to one of your homes. The crime is soliciting sex to occur there and then.

I don’t know, maybe it’s indecent and off-putting to most people?

Better a public bathroom than in line at the Post Office.

R19 - exactly - the only reason why these hold-overs exist from pre-2000 are because of closeted married men.

Gay men don't need to go to cruising areas anymore to meet guys. And the ones who do - like it because of the thrill of being caught, which is on them and it doesn't make it right.

And I don't want to see straight people fucking in bathrooms either or anywhere else in public.

I wasn't soliciting sex. I was just tapping my feet

[quote] the only reason why these hold-overs exist from pre-2000 are because of closeted married men.

Honey, what do you think most of them were PRE-2000?

it is illegal because straight men want to use the bathroom as a facility and not have to worry about being hit on by gay men who want to blow them or fuck them in the ass in a toilet stall.

. There should be a This is why they hate us thread. Where this topic definitely belongs.

R23 - fair enough - but the scene began decades ago when being gay was illegal and considered a mental illness.

Closeted married men don't want to post their face pics on Grindr or other gay sites - so this is why I think it still exists.

I can't imagine being so desperate that literally any dick will do. It's not likely there are a ton of options.

R15 no. It offends loathing “straight” male cops.

[quote]Do lesbians go in for this?

They certainly do: I once saw two U-Haul trucks stationed next to the restroom on an interstate rest area. Later I read in the news that U-Haul had to send a fleet driver to the rest area to bring the second truck back home.

Whew, I know that place reeked stronger than a fresh seafood farmers market.

I once worked in a two-story building that housed three offices. Our company was the largest tenant with offices on the 1st and second floor. On the first floor was a state Unemployment Office. The restrooms were in a central hallway and shared by all the offices and their visitors. The women's restroom had a combination lock on the door. My coworker explained that a couple who was visiting the Unemployment Office had entered the women's restroom, got into a stall, and were going at it. "They didn't even go into the handicapped stall!" she said.

Maybe if people solicited sex and then took their conquests home or to a hotel. But no, they have to have instant gratification.

[quote] Maybe if people solicited sex and then took their conquests home

Where Mummy and Daddy or Wifey live.

[quote] or to a hotel

Too fucking expensive

R30 well wifey is usually home so that’s not an option. And people be so paranoid about credit card receipts and being seen together at a hotel. But it still would be smart to do the latter. Closeted guys are more likely to bathroom solicit.

Prior to Covid and my husband I did the Craigslist thing. My place. All guys married to women.

The bathhouses are a safer option.

R33 At least you know what the purpose is. Those Larry Craig moments of public but poorly timed lust are always entertaining to hear.

The chubby Christian Fundamentalist pastor was the most fun in bed r34. Then I found out who he was.

Even gay men don’t necessarily want to have people peering in at them from the crack in the stall door. This happened to me a lot in Bobst Library when I was at NYU in the 80s.

I’m sorry to be a traitor to gayness or whatever this makes me, but I just don’t find that kind of random public solicitation a turn-on.

I was putting myself through school — and living on my own. So I worked a full-time job, was at nyu full time as well, and living far out it Brooklyn. I was at the library to study between the end of classes and the start of work (in midtown, so I had to schlep up there).

No, I don’t want you peering at me and leering as I take a shit. I’m exhausted and I have another hours research. Leave me alone.

I guess I’ll turn in my gay card but that’s never been sexy to me.

If you're in there for a much needed shit or piss you don't qualify. I tried it and found it was little more than masturbation.

I need a half hour at least. Preferably more.