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<DIV>Please notice the bold, red text in the Fox/AP news item below.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>How many people at any bar, restaurant, or church social on Saturday
night in Moscow, Idaho would be subject to arrest for "offers of acts of
lewdness" if a law similar to the one discussed below were in effect
locally?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>W.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.foxnews.com/index.html"><IMG alt=FOXNews.com
src="http://www.foxnews.com/images/headers/fnc_logo05.gif"></A></DIV>
<H1>Minister Critical of Gay Marriage Who Solicited Sex From Man Argues Free
Speech</H1>
<P><STRONG>Friday , February 23, 2007</STRONG></P>
<P>Associated Press</P>
<P>OKLAHOMA CITY — 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. </P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Authorities say he asked the undercover policeman to come up to his hotel for
oral sex.</P>
<P>His attorney, Mack Martin, filed a motion to have the misdemeanor lewdness
charge thrown out, saying the <A
href="javascript:siteSearch('Supreme Court');"><B>Supreme Court</B></A> ruled in
the 2003 decision Lawrence v. Texas that it was not illegal for consenting
adults to engage in private homosexual acts.</P>
<P>"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.</P>
<P><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000 size=4>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.</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P>The <A
href="javascript:siteSearch('American Civil Liberties Union');"><B>American
Civil Liberties Union</B></A> of Oklahoma has filed a brief claiming that
Latham's arrest also violated his right to <A
href="javascript:siteSearch('free speech');"><B>free speech</B></A>.</P>
<P>Before his arrest, Latham had spoken against <A
href="javascript:siteSearch('same-sex marriage');"><B>same-sex marriage</B></A>
and in support of a Southern Baptist resolution that called upon gays and
lesbians to reject their lifestyle.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>On Thursday Latham declined to talk to reporters at the non-jury trial.</P>
<P>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.</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>