jonn, thanks so much for sharing this. I've actually bookmarked it to mention on the CFS Home Page and may adapt it into an update for Keith's pages about public cruising

I think the LA Times keeps most stories in an online archive, though I don't know if they stay free to access or move behind a paywall after some time. And of course, they might change their policies at any future point.

~ Bob

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Following up on the Long Beach case: Long Beach won't appeal a ruling that said police stings unfairly targeted gay men

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That is great about Long Beach -

I understand that there is an issue with some of places where guys have gone at it right in the public bathroom or the like -

But to send police out to act interested and see if the other guy responds - or to go into adult bookstores and theaters and arrest guys for indecent exposure is just wrong.

And the worst part is the publicity those stings receive - names and often pictures printed in the paper when it is a "victim less crime" where no one gets hurt - except the poor guy whose life was just ruined by them printing it in the paper!

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Most European jurisdictions do not allow sting operations for all the obvious reasons.

You are sending a law enforcement officer to lure other men into lewd behavior. Even if the other men do not respond, the officer may be prone to insisting that they did because he has a vested interest in accomplishing his mission. The dude has got to pay his bills, too, and a promotion would not hurt him either. We would not call it a shining example of perfect integrity but the legal system cannot purely rely on the individuals and their sense of integrity alone.

We have all been witnessing the end of many of the old, tried and tested cruising areas. We have seen so many ABSs, adult theaters, gay bars, clubs and spas close within the past several years. No doubt, the things are changing. Your average Joe Gay is really not picking up his NSA ONS at the neighboring public facilities or less and less so in any of the usually cruisy venues. The apps & Co. are easier, faster, cheaper.

Hence, the gay-related 'lewd behavior' as a somewhat 'massive' problem is largely a matter of the past. No one wants to send in 3 cops to work for 10 hrs each to make one dubious arrest if any.

Sure, printing the names and the pictures of people accused of lewd behavior led to many suicides, serious professional and family ruptures, etc. To some extent, things are changing here, too. Many men ARE very openly gay. 'Outing' them is really not possible any more. And quite a few gay men are self-employed. Bad as this may be, I do not see them firing themselves on those charges.

If it does not pay off, why do it?

KD

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From what I see in the Sex Listings, there's still a lot of what you might call "opportunistic cruising," especially by men who simply like the experience of having sex with anonymous strangers in a public or semi-public place. Some of them pre-arrange meetings using Apps or Craigslist, some simply go to well-known beaches, parks (there's one in Hemet, California that seems like the only place in town to get off), ABSs (this one by the Interstate in Kentucky is especially busy), and some of the Korean- or other Asian-style "mens' spas," bathhouses, and sexclubs in medium-sized and big cities, too. Of course, the Sex Listings Reviews reflect just a fraction of the activity that happens in a place but I see reports every day.

There's also the thing with men who might be married to women and/or who identify as straight or as some other label. Many can't meet at home, don't want to reveal their true identity, etc., etc. They might make a connection online or they might be in a cruisy location, but either way it's compartmentalized from other parts of life. I see this also in the Escort Reviews where many clients are married men of some means who hire men.

It's not really that different from straight men, married or not, having opposite-six hook-ups (or affairs or sex-work engagements, too) that they don't want to keep in a special part of their private life, unrevealed to spouses, partners, close friends, or whoever. This has been going on for thousands of years. It's simply human behavior, except that men who have sex with men may have more opportunities and less inhibitions.

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I very much agree with you that 'opportunistic cruising' continues to exist, and that it even may be going on pretty strong at specific locations across the country. Yet, I am afraid that the gay mainstream, as in your 'out and about' metro gay guy hooking up for sex now relies mostly on online resources for his daily hookup needs. No doubt, some of these hook ups may then physically take place at one of the known cruising areas, too.

I also agree that a number of people of whatever sexual orientation may be using some of the cruising spots for their DL encounters, too. The fact that some bars, spas and clubs survive confirms that they, too, must be having some sort of public, too.

I have been traveling on both business and pleasure throughout Europe extensively over the past several decades. Both the public and the commercial based cruising continue to exist. Yet, I have seen a very significant reduction on at least three levels.

First off, many even relatively popular bars and clubs have closed, mostly because they stopped being financially viable. Formerly very popular public parks are now largely empty with one or two guys looking around, where we used to have dozens of folks cruising on the popular nights.

Second off, the surviving clubs, bars, etc., are mostly barely making it. You go there, see three guys sitting and talking; you have a drink and you move on. The three dudes are still sitting there... I guess. You need numbers in order to get the game going.

Third off, many sites are now open for everyone, and frankly are not really that gay anymore. Cruising at such spots is a very different animal altogether.

KD

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KD, agreed on all points for the USA too.

It's hard to quantify how much the action has changed at public places, and I still see reviews from parks, public toilets, even department store fitting rooms from coast to coast. Many do say they arrange to meet online, some just show up at, say, Prospect Park in Brooklyn - documented with photos in the 2015 book In the Vale of Cashmere - or in Meridian Hill Park in DC, known as "Malcolm X Park."

It's interesting that both of these places seem to be frequented primarily by men of color, but I see others that attract a wider demographic, such as Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. A report in XTRA: Do gay guys still cruise for public sex? had a reporter in this park. He seemed to think things didn't live up to his hopes (the men were "boring") but then again, he'd visited the City for Dore Alley, the Folsom Street Fair. A park just doesn't compete. Still, his conclusion was "public cruising is still alive and well in San Francisco."

What I get from all this is it depends on the city, the people, the time, and especially one's expectations. Given that, the overall amount, context, and methods associated with public cruising have evolved - just as society has evolved.

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