Pastor says solicitation for sex shouldn't be a crime

By Bill Sherman

Religion News Service

OKLAHOMA CITY - A former member of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee went on trial here on a charge of offering to engage in a lewd act.

Lonnie Latham, then 60 and pastor of South Tulsa Baptist Church, was arrested Jan. 3, 2006, after allegedly inviting a male undercover Oklahoma City police officer to his hotel room for sex. He pleaded not guilty in February 2006.

In a non-jury trial in Oklahoma County District Court on Feb. 22, Judge Roma M. McElwee said she would rule on the case in about two weeks. Latham waived his right to a jury trial.

The case drew the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union and national gay rights organizations who maintained that inviting someone to a hotel room for sex was not a crime.

Latham's attorney, Mack Martin, argued that his client was charged under a lewdness statute that should be unconstitutional because the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 legalized consensual sex between two adult males.

"If it's not illegal to engage in that conduct, then it shouldn't be illegal to talk about it (solicit)," he said.

He filed a motion asking that the case be dismissed.

Attorney Michael Salem, along with the American Civil Liberties Union Oklahoma Foundation, argued that Latham's solicitation for sex was protected free speech.

First Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland argued that the state still has laws against - and an interest in controlling - public solicitation, even for sexual activity that has been legalized by the Supreme Court.

If convicted, Latham could face a year in jail, a $2,500 fine and 40 to 80 hours of community service.

As a spokesman for Southern Baptists, Latham often defended the church's opposition to same-sex relations. After his arrest he resigned from his pulpit, the SBC Executive Committee, and state leadership roles.