The rationale the NYPD has been using to arrest gay men cruising in adult book shops? It’s unconstitutional. So how come the police continue to intimidate these men, and courts continue to hear cases and issue punishments for a crime that is, in fact, not a crime at all?

It’s a great question, and Slate’s Daniel Redman tries answering it. “In 1983,” he reminds us, “New York’s high court struck down as unconstitutional a 1960s-era provision that made it illegal to cruise—that is, to hit on someone in a public place. And yet in the 26 years since, on thousands of occasions, the New York Police Department has continued to enforce the defunct law, historically used to target gay people.”

More at: Queerty!