In a statement voicing support for Senator Larry Craig’s request to reverse his prior guilty plea, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the Minnesota law in question unconstitutional and stated that solicitation for sex falls under the category of “constitutionally protected” free speech. 

In June 2007, Craig was arrested in Minnesota for attempting to solicit sex in a public restroom from an undercover police officer who was part of a sting operation. Craig pled guilty to disorderly conduct and is now attempting to reverse that plea. 

According to the Minnesota Supreme Court, closed public restroom stalls are considered private areas. The ACLU maintains that the grounds of Craig’s initial arrest were unconstitutional and that the police were “spying.” The ACLU continued to say that it could not be proven that Craig was intending to have sex in a public place, and therefore his solicitation to the officer was protected free speech.

The ACLU, who describes Senator Craig as someone who is “not a great friend” of civil liberties and having an anti-civil rights voting record, explicitly stated that they do not promote sex in public restrooms.