06/24/2008
Park Service: Fire Island Citations 'Not Part of a Targeted Raid'
An update on the earlier report of arrests on Fire Island, courtesy of Next magazine, which has kindly given us an advance of this info, which will be published in their Friday Pride edition:
"The big buzz on the beach last weekend was about the 'raids' taking place at the notorious Meat Rack. A call to the National Park Service that polices the cruisey passage between The Pines and Cherry Grove revealed that over the past two weekends there have been two incidents with park rangers and five citations have been given out — two on June 15, one for disorderly conduct and one for possession of a controlled substance, and three on June 21, all for disorderly conduct. Both incidents involve men having sex in the area properly known as Carrington Tract. A rep for the Park Service said that no arrests have been made and that this is not a part of a targeted raid, but that the Fire Island National Seashore received more funding for personnel this year than in the past so there are more patrols of all areas, not just the Meat Rack, and that no directive has been given by the superintendent to crack down on any illegal behavior in the area."
Previously
Gay Men Arrested for Public Sex on Fire Island [tr]
Posted 12:50 PM EST by Andy Towle in Fire Island, New York, News | Permalink
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Haven't gay men been having sex in the Meatrack for decades? It's been written about and talked about as one of the features of Fire Island for so long, I'm surprised there aren't bus tours. They should just put up a nice fence around it, describe it as a gay wildlife sanctuary, and leave everyone who wants to frolic in it alone.
Posted by: David D. | Jun 24, 2008 6:28:03 PM
This is not a gay rights issue. It's a sleaze issue. Our community needs to stop confusing the two.
When Lawrence vs Texas overturned the ban on sodomy, it wasn't on the basis of us wanting to have sex in public. It was on the basis of our right to have sex in private.
Memo to the gay community: don't waste your time with this Fire Island situation. It is NOT a gay civil rights issue.
Posted by: jason | Jun 24, 2008 7:23:53 PM
I am a homeowner in Cherry Grove (Meat Rack adjacent) The 'Meat Rack" is a part of the Fire Island National Seashore http://www.nps.gov/fiis/ I've cruised and connected for years and I'm unapologetic. I'm aware it's a risk and I accept it fully.
With a clear head and a little finesse, there's no issue of "offending the public".
Anyway there's much more offensive sh*t going on in the world. So to all the old maid moralistic prigs on this site- stay out of my sandbox! I don't trample the primary dunes like many clueless boys do, I don't litter. The area has been traditionally unsupervised and I think it's time for us to do a little penance. Not because of the sex, because we have really trashed the place. There is a group of volunteers who remove litter and they are to be commended. But too many drunk queens traipse through the rack, throw their bottles and cups wherever, and leave condoms and nasty debris all over. The whole rack needs a rest and a clean up.
Posted by: DC10001 | Jun 24, 2008 8:32:15 PM
"This is not a gay rights issue. It's a sleaze issue."
For you, Jason.
For other people it is in fact a gay rights issue because there is a long history of so-called morality laws being used against gay people. But, even if it isn't a civil rights issue, one needn't be confused or sleazy to object to, in our view, heavy-handed policing of public spaces. The issue runs deeper than an incident at the Fire Island Meat Rack, as is evidenced by the strong responses here. It gets to the heart of differing opinions of what it means to be gay now, choices about expressing sexuality, and the messy nature of "public." Engaging with these issues is hardly a waste of time.
Posted by: Ernie | Jun 24, 2008 8:33:45 PM
I cannot believe some gay men on this site are so pathetic that they are trying to argue they should be allowed to have sex in public simply because it's on "their" island. Fire Island is a public place. You can pretend that having sex in public is part of your gay history but thankfully it's not part of mine. This is strictly a generational thing that older gays are trying to couch as some civil rights, gay rights issue in order to bring in younger gays. Thankfully younger gays are already at the point in our evolution where they realize they don't need to debase themselves this way. Maybe some of the older gays will realize it's time to grow up. Over forty and sleazing in the bushes is not attractive, not a right and certainly not cultural.
Posted by: Will | Jun 24, 2008 11:25:07 PM
Will,
I agree with you. It never ceases to amaze the number of dunderheads who think having sex in public spaces is a civil rights issue.
The only situation in which this should be a concerning issue for the gay community is if the policing was based on discriminatory policies - if, for instance, the police were cracking down on gay public sex but not straight public sex. In that situation, a case can be made that it's unfair.
Posted by: jason | Jun 25, 2008 12:34:38 AM
Good! I hope the Park Service keeps it up. The time for gay men to think that public sex is a "civil right" is long over. It is disgusting to think that after 20+ years of the HIV epidemic, the loss of tens of thousands of young men in their prime or approaching it, and the still virulent homophobia that runs rampant in American (if not the world), some gay guys just can't take their "sexuality" and keep it out of the public eye. Anybody who gets down on the Park Service for doing something that should have been done YEARS ago really needs to have their meds checked or else try and push their brain up from their dick and back into their head.
Posted by: mike | Jun 25, 2008 1:00:58 PM
Good! I hope the Park Service keeps it up. The time for gay men to think that public sex is a "civil right" is long over. It is disgusting to think that after 20+ years of the HIV epidemic, the loss of tens of thousands of young men in their prime or approaching it, and the still virulent homophobia that runs rampant in American (if not the world), some gay guys just can't take their "sexuality" and keep it out of the public eye. Anybody who gets down on the Park Service for doing something that should have been done YEARS ago really needs to have their meds checked or else try and push their brain up from their dick and back into their head.
Posted by: mike | Jun 25, 2008 1:01:55 PM
Hello:
I am somewhat taken aback by all the incredulous shrieking about how disgusting "public sex" is for the gay community. It's hardly "public" in the sense that it goes on behind the bushes. No onee sees it unless they choose to.
The courts have ruled that, while there is no expectation of privacy in any part of the park, the offense were still NOT public lewdness because they were out of sight.
The real question is: does the gay community want to be placed under surveillance and arrest by federal sex police?
The Park Service report that "no arrests were made" was an obfuscation. They claim that a suspect can be handcuffed and detained, but if issued a citation they were never "under arrest". Under law, those handcuffed are absolutely "under arrest".
The meat rack provides a rare opportunity for older men to meet and service many younger and more attractive men...or participate vicariouslyas observers. It is all consensual and almost always safer sex or mutual masturbation.
I fully respect the right of people not to encounter public lewdness. I also respect the hard won freedom from surveillance and arrest that the mattachine society won for all of us 40 years ago.
Parents who stroll with small children through the meat rack are being careless.
Adults who fornicate in the open are also being inconsiderate.
Reasoned compromise allows us all to enjoy a very special place.
Posted by: David | Jul 6, 2008 12:41:49 PM