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| Prison condom push debated |
| By The Sacramento Bee |
| Published: 02/28/2005 |
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California is considering allowing prison inmates to receive condoms for sex acts they can't legally commit. Assembly Member Paul Koretz claims the state has had its head in the sand too long: Forbidden or not, prison sex is a fact of life, he said. "If you can't stop it from happening, you try to stop disease from spreading," said Koretz, a West Hollywood Democrat. Koretz has touched off a verbal firestorm by proposing legislation to allow distribution of condoms and "dental dams" -- used in oral sex -- to the state's 162,000 male and female inmates. Critics claim passage of Assembly Bill 1677 would wrongly send the message that prison sex is permissible, and some fear that inmates would fill condoms with urine or feces to attack guards. "It's obscene, disgusting and absurd," said Benjamin Lopez of the Traditional Values Coalition, a conservative, faith-based group. Under AB 1677, the state would not sanction prison sex but would allow nonprofit or public health groups to distribute condoms, dental dams or other sex-related protective devices. Inmates could not be punished simply for possessing such items. The Department of Corrections would be required to develop a plan for disposing of used devices that "protects the anonymity of inmates and the health of correctional officers." For years, two California counties, Los Angeles and San Francisco, have allowed jail inmates to receive condoms. "We're not promoting sex. We're promoting health," said Deputy Randy Bell of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Vermont and Mississippi also allow condom distribution in prisons, as do Canada, most of Western Europe and parts of Latin America, Koretz said. The California Department of Corrections does not keep statistics on the number of inmates caught or punished for engaging in homosexual acts. Koretz said the federal government has estimated that up to 30% of federal inmates engage in homosexual activity. California's prison system has taken no position on AB 1677, said spokeswoman Terry Thornton. Lance Corcoran, spokesman for state prison guards, blasted the bill as a "horrible idea." |
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