While Rep. Akin may have doomed Republican efforts in retaking the U.S. Senate, a Minnesota state representative may have done the same for Democrats in that state. Rep. Kerry Gauthier, 56, has admitted to having a liaison with a 17-year-old boy at a rest stop but insists that it was all perfectly legal since the boy was over 16 years old. The thing that struck me as the most interesting is his claim that it is not a crime to have sex at a rest stop in Minnesota.
Gauthier reportedly advertised in a Craigslist ad for “no strings attached” sex. The teen says the oral sex was entirely consensual.
Presumably, if the sex occurred in his car, there would be a danger of a public indecency charge. However, having sex in a public place is usually a criminal act. It is true that the “gross misdemeanor” provision for indecency states the age 16 criteria and that case would not fit the felony provision under Minnesota law. However, the simple misdemeanor provision would seem to apply:
617.23 INDECENT EXPOSURE; PENALTIES.
Subdivision 1.Misdemeanor. A person who commits any of the following acts in any public place, or in any place where others are present, is guilty of a misdemeanor:
(1) willfully and lewdly exposes the person’s body, or the private parts thereof;(2) procures another to expose private parts; or
(3) engages in any open or gross lewdness or lascivious behavior, or any public indecency other than behavior specified in this subdivision.
Do you think that he should step down over the incident?
Source: HuffPo
Excuse for that I interfere … At me a similar situation. Let’s discuss.
Thank you again, Darren. Your posts are always educational! Malisha, once again, you’ve hit the nail on the head!
Silence after Malisha.
Not unusual. Her comments make toooooo damn much sense. There went the fun for the tee-hee-ers. “Hee-hee, two you knows doing it. And one was young. Just goes to show” tissle-tassle”
I hope they have floats with “live shows” in next year’s Gay Pride parade here in Stockholm. There were quite likely scenes of private activity at the park where the closing party was held. But why should I go to see them.
Somebody pour some tea, mine is getting cold.
I fail to see what the fuss is about. Hell, I even fail to see what the article is about. Did the teen say “one wrong word” at his high school graduation? Neither of those two sexual partners got pregnant, did they? OMG how important everything is!
It is good news that the State Rep is pulling out now. We had a phrase when Nixon was President in the Vietnam War: “Dick, pull out now, like your father should have.” But, we dont know exactly what the State Rep here and the Minor were doing. Nor do they say if the 17 year old worked in a coal mine or copper mine. A minor in one regard is a hell of a lot different thatn a minor in another. It fellatior was going on then we must call in the Italians to punish them and not the coal minors union. If the older guy was mining the younger guy but the younger guy was an adult then it is just a case of the critics being Age Discriminators. In any event, I am glad that the politiician has just told the TV station that he is withdrawing. That was a long round two and he must be tired. Another slogan back when Nixon was President: ” Dont Change Dicks In The Middle of A Screw, Vote For Nixon in ’72.” This was put on bumper stickers. I am blind and I have a guide dog whose name is HumpinDog. When we pull into a rest stop I will keep him on a leash. He will hump anything and I would hate for us both to go to jail if there was a coal minor standing around minding his own business and HumpinDog got a hold of his leg in front of god and everybody trying to stop and rest.
Dennis.
Glad he is not seeking re-election. The comments of his peers publicly labeling him a Child Molester, that was golden. He still should resign from office in my view.
AS one said, it is just because he is gay. To me the federal statute seems famiiiar as a means of combatting interstate traffic of women back in the 20’s.
That we are not quite ready for viewing sex between males is quite clear. Not ready for hetero either, but to a degree tolerated in larger segments. The comments would certainly differ from the onlookers. Irony!
I live in his District. According to the local news, the State Patrol arrested him in a rest stop of I-35 within Duluth city limits, because of witness phone calls. Age 16 is the age of consent in Minnesota, but having sex in a rest stop is a misdemeanor. Prostitution charges were contemplated, but the Representative and the youth denied an exchange of money. In an interview on television this afternoon, Gauthier maintained he’d pursue election, in spite of calls from the Governor and other Democrats that he ste;p down. At the 6:00 PM news broadcast, it was announced that he had just phoned the station to say that he is withdrawing.
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/240901/
Kraaken: Yes, to anyone with some sense of “equality” for lack of a better word it shouldnot matter the gender of the child, but when it is male on male, many in our society currently view this as scandelous and it attracts more news notoriety. It isn’t fair.
Ages of consent are quirky in many states, Washington State’s laws for which I am most familiar has quirks. 16 is a general rule for intercourse but there is a graduated scale used between so many months between the actors. But, what is odd about our laws is that While it is legal generally for a 25 year old stranger to have sex with a 17 year old (not a relative, supervisor, school official etc) Calling the 17 year old up on the phone and talking phone sex is. (Communicating with a minor for immoral purposes) Taking a photograph of the act is Child Pornography. It is weird, but that’s how it is written.
The federal statutes in this case mention “minor” and Crime and that is the trigger for federal jursidiction if interstate commerce is involved.
I have been rather surprised over the years to see how easily the federal government can make itself involved in state issues by invoking commerce clause arguments.
Occasionally before I retired from LE, I would encounter a serious felon in possesion of stolen firearms. WA state laws were not as harsh as federal felon in possession charges. BATFE was very interested in these cases. I would have to gather certain evidence to make “a federal case of it”. The easiest way to do this was to do a trace on the firearm and show that it was manufactured in another state or country and that was all it took for the federal government to take jurisdiction, since it now involved interstate commerce. The felon would receive many years in federal prison, off our streets and at the cost of the federal gov’t.
I agree with the 10th amendment parts of the constitution. Sometimes it is more political federal involvement is, such as the Defense of Marriage act. I don’t believe the federal government has a right to dictate terms of marriage to the states, since it is the states that officiates all marriages, though I suppose there are exceptions for officers doing this in the military. (I don’t know if this is still true or not).
Even in our dark days of the past, slave states allowed marriage between slaves and it was recognized. Gay folks today don’t even have that right on the federal level.
Thanks, Darren. I agree that this would be a stretch. I can’t help thinking that had this been a 17yo female instead of a male, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. So, are you saying that the 16yo age of consent in Minnesota is really NOT the age of consent, that it’s only a suggestion the the Federal Government has graciously allowed the State to think it can set but can be ignored by the Feds? I am not an advocate for ‘States Rights’ (I personally think that that concept is probably the worst error the FF ever made, and the Commerce Clause nearly as bad), but it seems to me that you can’t have it both ways. Either the states have the right to set the age of consent or they don’t.
Of course I must add that there was one time at the cathouse when the mob guy came by and collected all the money off the girls and I had just cleaned the whole place, one room after another, real nasty work it was, and the three gals had no money and insisted on showing me what the tri-fecta was so that I would not walk home feeling poorly. It was early Sunday too. The Lord works in strange ways. After the tri-fecta I talked them all into going to church with me at the sunrise service and they did. They converted me to their ways and I converted them to the faith. My fellow churchgoers sure had their eyes buggin out that morning — what with the girls outfits and all.
Just two words: Larry Craig!
It seems to me if one person is penetrating another person in the back seat of a car at a rest stop that they are not in interstate commerce. If they were right on the border and the car was moving from Illinois to Missouri then that would be another matter. But porkin in a rest stop is not a federal crime. If no one saw them then its not lewd under that state law. When I was sixteen I worked at a cathouse in Vegas cleaning the rooms after the activities were over. The gals tried to pay me “in kind” but I insisted on money. All sorts of supposedly decent people came through there. Later when I was a young preacher I saw a couple of them sitting in the audience at our church looking righteous. They did not know who I was but they complimented me on my preaching. I moved on to greener pastures and believe that folks can find redemption. To get holier than thou about some small thing like porkin in a parking lot is unproductive.
Kraaken:
I base my view that he could be construed to have commetted a crime is supported in Title 18 United States Code, Section 2422(b)
(b) Whoever, using the mail or any facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years, to engage in prostitution or any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 10 years or for life
Using the interenet or telephone communications are means of interstate commerce. The case law I have read indicates interstate commerce can include even de minimis involvement. An example of this is United States v. Watkins
The representative could be charged under Minnesota’s indecent exposure laws as our Professor Opins which as you recall from above reads:
617.23 INDECENT EXPOSURE; PENALTIES.
Subdivision 1.Misdemeanor. A person who commits any of the following acts in any public place, or in any place where others are present, is guilty of a misdemeanor:
{snip}
(3) engages in any open or gross lewdness or lascivious behavior, or any public indecency other than behavior specified in this subdivision.
~+~
As some might view it as a stretch, Once could argue the applicability of the federal statute.
Preach on, Rev! 🙂
What the Reverend said.
So, change the laws. He had a quickie with an adult 17 year old and then rested at the Rest Stop. Big deal. Are you discrminating against 17 year old adults over 18 year old adults, or 25 year old adults. In Borneo the 17 year old male and his 17 year old wife would have four kids age one thru five. Age Discrimination! Next you will say that a 66 year old male can not go to a cat house in Vegas and have sex with a woman under 60. How callous you all are. Pork em if ya gottem.