County Bans Sex at Bathhouses in Bid to Curb AIDS

After being accused of trying to “legislate morality,” the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday adopted tough health restrictions banning sexual activity in gay-oriented bathhouses.

Describing its action as a step toward controlling the spread of AIDS, the board unanimously approved a series of regulations that could be used to close the five bathhouses operating in the City of San Diego if sexual activity occurs at them.

The supervisors also approved a separate ordinance intended to discourage the establishment of any bathhouses in the unincorporated areas of the county, where none now operate. Among other things, the ordinance requires that most bathhouse rooms be open and limited to one person at a time.

Before the vote, the meeting was briefly recessed and county marshals were summoned to clear the board chamber when some members of the audience shouted down a prominent gay leader, Dr. Brad Truax, who endorsed the proposed ordinance as a step toward halting the spread of the deadly disease.

“Brad Truax, you should be ashamed of yourself!” shouted a man who later identified himself as Don Schermerhorn, co-owner of a bathhouse. “Brad Truax does not represent the gay community. He has sold out!”

The new county regulations, patterned after a similar measure adopted last month by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, would empower county health officers to close as a “public nuisance” any bathhouse or other business where patrons engage in sexual activity. The guidelines are expected to be in effect by early spring, according to Dr. J. William Cox, director of the county’s Department of Health Services.

However, because of legal questions about the measure--stemming from the fact that a San Francisco Superior Court refused to enforce a similar closure order in that city--the supervisors encouraged San Diego and other cities to adopt identical ordinances governing their jurisdictions. The courts likely would place greater weight on a city ordinance than on county health guidelines, county lawyers said.

In accordance with the county’s request, a spokeswoman for San Diego City Councilwoman Judy McCarty said late Tuesday that a council committee is expected to hold hearings on bathhouse regulations later this month.

Tuesday’s action came after bathhouse owners, some gay activists and others denounced the proposed county regulations as an attempt to “impose morality” on the gay community that would do nothing to control AIDS.

“This is not a matter of public policy; it is one of morality,” said Roger Scott, a San Diego AIDS Project volunteer. “Morality is not something this board should be ruling on. It’s a matter of personal rights.”

Noting that bathhouses often provide condoms and AIDS education material to their patrons, some speakers warned that closing the facilities could even worsen the local AIDS problem.

As of December, 727 AIDS cases had been diagnosed in San Diego, and more than half those people had died, according to county figures.

“If the bathhouses of San Diego were closed, there are thousands of gay men who would . . . go on with the same level of (sexual) activity, only in less sanitary and supervised areas,” said Darl Edwards, owner of a 4th Avenue bathhouse. “The bathhouses are in the vanguard of educating men on how to be sexual . . . in a safe manner. This proposal is shortsighted and borders on political grandstanding.”

But county health director Cox said public health officials are convinced that any sexual activity in bathhouses--defined in the ordinance as anal, oral or vaginal sex, with or without condoms--contributes to the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

“Does the department consider the bathhouses a threat? Yes,” Cox said.

With passions on both sides of the issue running strong, the meeting reached its emotional peak when Truax, chairman of the county’s AIDS task force, backed the proposed ordinance.

“Closing the bathhouses will not end AIDS,” said Truax, who himself has AIDS. “But it could and will slow down the spread of this disease in our community.”

After Schermerhorn’s outburst--”This is a darn shame, Brad Truax, a darn shame!” he yelled, touching off shouts from others in the room--board Chairman George Bailey recessed the meeting for about 15 minutes.

The dispute then moved to the corridor outside the meeting room, where, as Truax was interviewed by reporters, about a dozen men began chanting, “Shame! Shame! Shame!”

Order was finally restored when marshals told the protesters they could be arrested for disrupting a public meeting. No other incidents followed after the meeting resumed.

In their own comments, the supervisors echoed Truax’s remarks, describing the ordinance and related guidelines as only one facet of the fight against AIDS.

“It’s hard to accept that the sexual revolution is over,” Supervisor Brian Bilbray said. “But this great heyday of personal freedom has been hit by a biological cruise missile. This ordinance does not address individual rights. This is addressing the rights of a business that is making money on an (unsafe) activity.”

“If the bathhouses wish to remain open as a meeting place, they can continue to do so under the ordinance,” Supervisor Susan Golding said. “If they wish to remain open as a place of sexual activity, they cannot.”

Under the ordinance that applies to the unincorporated areas of the county, bathhouse owners would be required to obtain a permit from the Sheriff’s Department, and the establishments would undergo monthly inspections.

Moreover, stringent construction, lighting and ventilation regulations--including a one-person limit in any room of 30 square feet or less--would effectively preclude bathhouses from being used for sexual activity.

The health guidelines establish similar design standards intended to eliminate the privacy that facilitates sexual encounters at bathhouses, county administrators said.

Although the state Health and Safety Code gives county health officers jurisdiction over incorporated cities in public health matters, Cox explained that enforcement of the regulations would be “legally clearer” if the San Diego City Council adopts a similar measure, enabling the county to avoid a legal showdown over the question.

“The ball’s in the city’s court,” Cox said. “If they go along, they can make the situation much simpler. But if we have to, we’re prepared to do it the other way.”