Just like we keep saying, the loudest gay-bashers are usually gay 
themselves.

Gay marriage critic tried on lewdness By JEFF LATZKE, Associated Press 
Writer

Thu Feb 22, 9:43 PM ET
 
The lawyer for a former Baptist church leader who had spoken out against 
homosexuality said Thursday the minister has a constitutional right to 
solicit sex from an undercover policeman.

The Rev. Lonnie W. Latham had supported a resolution calling on gays and 
lesbians to reject their "sinful, destructive lifestyle" before his Jan. 
3, 2006, arrest outside the Habana Inn in Oklahoma City.

Authorities say he asked the undercover policeman to come up to his 
hotel for oral sex.

His attorney, Mack Martin, filed a motion to have the misdemeanor 
lewdness charge thrown out, saying the Supreme Court ruled in the 2003 
decision Lawrence v. Texas that it was not illegal for consenting adults 
to engage in private homosexual acts.

"Now, my client's being prosecuted basically for having offered to 
engage in such an act, which basically makes it a crime to ask someone 
to do something that's legal," Martin said.

Both sides agree there was no offer of money, but prosecutor Scott 
Rowland said there is a "legitimate governmental interest" in regulating 
offers of acts of lewdness.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma has filed a brief 
claiming that Latham's arrest also violated his right to free speech.

Before his arrest, Latham had spoken against same-sex marriage and in 
support of a Southern Baptist resolution that called upon gays and 
lesbians to reject their lifestyle.

He has since resigned as pastor of the South Tulsa Baptist Church and 
stepped down from the executive committee of the Southern Baptist 
Convention, where he was one of four members from Oklahoma.

On Thursday Latham declined to talk to reporters at the non-jury trial.

Judge Roma M. McElwee said she would rule on the motion and issue a 
verdict in about two weeks. If convicted of the misdemeanor, Latham 
faces up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. 

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