Bathroom humor
April 12, 2007 at 3:54 pm by Andisheh Nouraee in Randomly NotedThe Associated Press and USA Today just picked up the AJC’s April 2 story about the Atlanta Police Department’s War On Bathroom Sex. I blogged a little bit about it on April 3. In case you missed it, Atlanta cops are peering into toilets at the airport to catch people engaged in sexual activity.
Seeing the story again reminded me of a conversation I had two weeks ago with a Clayton County assistant solicitor whose office prosecutes public indecency offenses at the airport.
I got in touch with her after I tried and failed to get an Atlanta police officer to talk to me about the crackdown. Strange. You’d think that someone who’s been peering into bathroom stalls at the airport would have some stories they’d want to tell.
The Clayton County assistant solicitor agreed to answer my questions, but asked that I not name her. I tried to get her to tell me what’s legal and what’s illegal in a public bathroom. Here’s our weird, circular conversation in a nutshell.
Two people engaged in a sexual act in a bathroom stall? Definitely illegal. You can’t have sex in public, she said.
How about someone masturbating alone, in a bathroom stall, with the door closed?
It doesn’t matter if it’s in a stall, she said. In a public place, there are things you can’t do.
That’s not exactly true, I said. There has to be a distinction between activities inside and outside a bathroom stall. If someone craps in a toilet in a stall, it’s not a crime. If someone pulls down his pants and craps in the sink, it’s a crime.
So I asked again, what activities are considered illegally indecent in a public toilet stall?
Any activity listed in the state public indecency code, 16-6-8, she said.
The law says:
(a) A person commits the offense of public indecency when he or she performs any of the following acts in a public place:
(1) An act of sexual intercourse;
(2) A lewd exposure of the sexual organs;
(3) A lewd appearance in a state of partial or complete nudity; or
(4) A lewd caress or indecent fondling of the body of another person.
OK, so is masturbation considered sexual intercourse?
Again, she wouldn’t say.
How does the law distinguish between “lewd exposure” of sexual organs and the utilitarian exposure of sexual organs required for successful use of a toilet?
She wouldn’t say.
After rephrasing my questions a few more times, I gave up. Whether she intended to or not, she left me with the impression that not only is sexual activity in a public toilet illegal, but so is just plain going potty — if a cop catches you looking like you’re enjoying it.
April 12th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
I’d like to pull down my pants and crap in your blog. How would I go about it? I mean, technically.