U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, an Idaho Republican, was arrested in a Minnesota airport because he allegedly solicited a sexual act from an undercover police officer in a restroom. And Craig pleaded guilty to “disorderly conduct,” which amounted to an admission of criminal wrongdoing that stopped short of acknowledging he committed the specific illegal act of which he was accused.

Why, then, did the senator feel compelled to stress, above all else, during his press conference on Tuesday that “I am not gay. I never have been gay”? And why did he “ask the people of Idaho for their forgiveness” immediately after contending that he was “not involved in any inappropriate conduct at the Minneapolis airport”?

Craig's emphasis on sexual preference and his subsequent request for forgiveness made it appear he believes being gay, rather than his action in the airport restroom, is the alleged offense in this case.

Being homosexual isn’t a crime, Senator. Soliciting a sexual act – gay or straight – in a public place is. It’s disturbing that you apparently believe otherwise.