re: article on Secret Gospel Church


Something in your article scared me, I actually lost sleep over�
it. 

In the context of the article, the writer asked the police, ``was�
anyone charged with unsafe sex?'' Of course the officer said no�
-- UNSAFE SEX IS NOT A CRIME!! The unspoken logic behind the�
question is very, very dangerous to our civil liberties, and will�
be a precedent for losing even more.

The point is this: I and literally everyone I know agrees that�
``unsafe sex'' is bad, dangerous, etc. But regardless, it is�
absolutely a personal decision. It can be nothing more nor less. 

An anonymous sex-club operator was quoted as saying something to�
the effect of, when we have people in our clubs, we have an�
obligation to keep them safe from fire, etc, and also unsafe sex.

Does this guy work for the police?! Fire and related issues are�
{\it environmental} -- they are part of the structure. Safe sex�
is between the participants. The only way to ``ensure safe sex''�
is -- how? Monitors in the rooms? Video surveillance? Sure, the�
monitors will be ``people from our community'' not the police --�
but besides not being able to tell the difference, it sets the�
precedence of stating {\it you cannot be trusted, you must be�
monitored.}

Taking this a little, but not very much, further, if unsafe sex�
is so dangerous, it must be stopped everywhere. In Georgia, the�
police can arrest you for homo-sex, period -- why not make it a�
felony to have unsafe sex?

My feeling is that the people who want to shut down sex clubs,�
even or maybe especially the gay ones, simply haven't gotten it�
through their heads what {\it tolerance} means, nor the ideas�
behind the Bill of Rights -- you simply can't {\it control} what�
people do, even if you think it is evil, simply because you feel�
strongly against it. Helms can run for senator if he wants to. TV�
christians can say you're going to hell and take fools money. It�
is their right to do so. Their right stops variously when they�
attempt to control others behavior, no matter how well meaning.�
Or not.

\bye
