A brief history of gay signalg, om hanky s to that 'what gay guys are actually like' vio

Contents:

• A BRIEF HISTORY OF GAY SIGNALG, OM HANKY S TO THAT 'WHAT GAY GUYS ARE ACTUALLY LIKE' VIO
• HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY
• STEP-BY-STEP INSTCTNS FOR SHOOTG YOUR SHOT WH GAY GUYS

A BRIEF HISTORY OF GAY SIGNALG, OM HANKY S TO THAT 'WHAT GAY GUYS ARE ACTUALLY LIKE' VIO

How do you tell if someone is gay? Larry Craig, R-Idaho, a men's rtroom at the Mneapolis airport for allegedly lookg to engage gay sex wrote his June report that he "regnized a signal ed by persons wishg to engage lewd nduct."Craig tapped his foot up and down and swiped his hand unrneath the bathroom stall which the unrver p was stg, acrdg to the police report.Those actns led to Craig's arrt by Detective Dave Karsnia and the senator's guilty plea to a disorrly nduct charge.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY

Craig told reporters today that he did nothg appropriate and said his guilty plea was a mistake.Public plac like men's rtrooms, airports and tra statns, tck stops, universy librari and parks, have long been plac where gay and bisexual men, particularly those the closet, ngregate orr to meet for anonymo sex.Over time, people faiar wh cisg told , gay men began g a dified system of signals to dite to others that they were terted sex. In an effort to curb lewd acts public — or as some gays argue, an effort to persecute gay men — unrver police began stg operatns plac known for sex solicg and employed the same s."Tappg of the foot is pretty standard for men who cise toilets," said Keh Griffh, owner of , a Web se on which visors post lotns popular wh men lookg for anonymo sex."They will ually go to the stall at the far end of the strip of toilets. They may be meetg public lotns, but they will be as discreet as possible," Griffh said.Cisg areas tradnally have been those parts of town "women and children are told to avoid," but through word of mouth, bathrooms at plac like Wal-Mart or Home Depot n bee cisg lol, he said.Griffh said that officers volved such stgs tend to be young and that anecdotal posts on his se dite the lol arrt rat crease around the time of electns or when media attentn foc on the issue.Bee much of the signalg is self benign behavr, some gay rights activists and lawyers have admonished police partments for arrtg men who have done ltle more than tap their feet."Cizens have a right not to nont lewd activy public plac," said Steve Sanrs, a lawyer and gay rights activist.

"But if there is evince that a stg is motivated by anti-gay anim, that may reprent a more troublg issue."At trial, Sanrs said, police would have to prove that actns such as foot tappg were known signals for solicg sex."What nstut probable e to arrt someone? If a se like this went to trial, police officers would have to produce evince to say here is how we n say wh certaty this is was really a lewd act," he said.Craig plead guilty to the charg and therefore opted agast a trial.Today, Craig nied beg gay and said he ma a mistake by pleadg guilty.Police officers, for the most part, only vtigate an area after members of the public have plaed about beg ed for sex, said Rich Gregson, executive director of the California Peace Officers Associatn."Police officers will vtigate areas that have known histori of this sort of activy.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTCTNS FOR SHOOTG YOUR SHOT WH GAY GUYS

The 35-year veteran police chief said he believed this sort of activy took place " every jurisdictn" and heard stori of "off-duty officers and even judg beg ught and arrted."Wh many other optns available for gay men to meet each other, Gershen Kfman, a profsor emer of psychology at Michigan State Universy and thor of the book "Comg Out of Shame," said public cisg is practiced maly by eply closeted men."Cisers are not sex offenrs. If he is gay, do this mean your gaydar is returng a posive but you are uncerta if the sensor data is rrect? Or you know he is gay but jt n blurt out "I'm terted you!