Crooks and Liars has a not-to-be-missed post that details a Republican legislator in Montana suggesting felony charges should be filed against gay people when we "recruit" straight men. Yes, that's right. Rep. Ken Peterson, R-Billings, believes we take advantage of young straight men whose hormones are raging out of control, and coax them into being gay, and for that we should be slapped with a felony! This kind of ignorance caused Republicans in their House of Reps to block repealing their anti-homosexuality law that was already overturned by their state's Supreme Court.
The legislature's inaction was not, it turns out, another non-priority falling off the too-long to-do list. Rather, it's homophobic lawmakers subtly suggesting that homosexual acts should still be outlawed, the Supreme Court—and equal rights in general—be damned. In fact, at least one lawmaker, Rep. Ken Peterson, R-Billings, an attorney, argues that the archaic law may still apply in certain situations.
Which situations? According to Peterson, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, there are at least two prosecutable offenses—felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. One is the "recruitment" of non-gays. "Homosexuals can't go out into the heterosexual community and try to recruit people, or try to enlist them in homosexual acts," Peterson says. He provides an example: "'Here, young man, your hormones are raging. Let's go in this bedroom, and we'll engage in some homosexual acts. You'll find you like it.'" Peterson hasn't actually seen this happen, he says, because "I don't associate with that group of people at all... I've associated with mainstream people all my life."
