110 4 Police and Law Enforcement—Family ForensicsNot only do gay officers face harassment or discrimination from fellow officers,
they also face rejection from the gay community. Law enforcement has negative
connotations for the many lesbians and gays who experience years of harassment.
bar raids, and abuse from the criminal justice system (Buhrke, 1996).
Historically, homosexual acts were considered illegal and resulted in severe sanc-
tions. From colonial times to the mid-1800s, sodomy was punishable by the death
penalty (D'Ernilio, 1983). During the 1950s only two states did not consider sodomy
a felony (Buhrke, 1996). In 1971, 110 men who were convicted of homosexual
acts were sentenced 15 years to life (Shilts, 1982).
Although homosexual acts are no longer severely punished, they are still viewed
as deviant or criminal. According to D'Emilio (1983), homosexuals have been
harassed with charges such as disorderly conduct or public lewdness. He states:
Vice squad officers, confident that their targets did not dare to challenge their au-
thority, were free to engage in entrapment. Anxious to avoid additional notoriety, gay
women and men often pleaded guilty even when the police lacked sufficient evidence
to secure convictions, (pp. 14—15)Buhrke (1996) claims that abuse inflicted by police officers is not rare or a thing
of the past. Although Mitch had a close association with his colleagues and an
impressive work history, he suffered various forms of harassment and intimidation
from his coworkers. This abuse was based on their discovery of his sexual orientation.
According to Dodge (1993), the police do not prevent gay bashing and may even
engage in it themselves. He maintains that, "[ajll law enforcement efforts that touch
on issues of sexual orientation take place against a background of hostility and
mistrust. There is a long history of antagonism between the police and the gay and
lesbian community" (Dodge, 1993, p. 302).
In a study conducted by Swerling (1978), 20% of California police officers
interviewed disclosed that they would quit if law enforcement began hiring openly
gay officers. Researchers have consistently found that gays and lesbians are one of the
most disliked categories of people by the police (M. Burke, 1993; P.Jacobs, 1966;
NiederhofFer, 1967). Traditionally, the police force is associated with conservative
ideals. Some officers view homosexuality as not only morally wrong, but criminal.
"From a police point of view then, homosexuality would appear to represent part of
the societal disorder that the police officer has dedicated his or her life to eradicating"
(M. Burke, 1994, p. 193).
Interestingly, researchers have found that the level of stigma and deviancy asso-
ciated with male homosexuality in law enforcement is not present with lesbianism.
M. Burke (1994) suggests that gay women are more likely to be masculinized than
gay men, who are considered weak. In general, gay men as officers encounter more
hostility than lesbians (Buhrke, 1996). According to Buhrke, "[stereotypes of les-
bians as erotic and gay men as HIV/AIDS carriers reinforce existing prejudices"
(1996, p. 260). Many lesbians in law enforcement are part of an informal network