Back to the bathhouse
Sue Rochman
It may soon be up to San Francisco voters to decide whether gay men should be able to have private sex in public sex establishments. A group of San Francisco gay men want to put an initiative on the November ballot that would kill a city policy banning closed rooms in all public sex clubs.
San Francisco shut down gay bathhouses, which had private rooms, in 1984 to stem the spread of HIV, a decision that was–and remains–controversial. Those opposed to lifting this ban include the city’s openly gay health director, Mitch Katz, who has said reopening the bathhouses could lead to an increase in unsafe sex and HIV transmission.
Supporters of this initiative, however, say that because the health commission refuses to debate the issue, they are taking it to the people. “We will be out in the streets collecting signatures, singing, ‘Vote yes for gay male sodomy,'” said Michael Petrelis, a spokesperson for the initiative drive.
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