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Cue the music. Another one bites the dust. One more conservative, anti-gay elected official has fallen from grace.

This time it was Sen. Larry Craig, an Idaho Republican. Long rumored to be gay, Craig had managed to keep his personal choices out of the papers. Until last week, that is. That's when it became public that he was caught - some would say entrapped - in a Minneapolis airport bathroom trying to get to know the fellow in the next stall. Turned out the fellow in the next stall was a police officer.

The event led to pressure from high-ranking Republicans, who feared the incident would affect their chances in the next election. Craig agreed to resign later this month but has since backed off. It could be the first time in history a sitting U.S. senator resigns in disgrace because he made an unwelcomed pass at another man.

It is tempting to rejoice in the fall of a self-righteous, high-ranking elected official caught because of a lifestyle he had often criticized during his political career. Not only did Craig vote against any legislation that would have given more rights to gays and lesbians, but he also was often strident in his positions.

It is sad that anyone, much less a U.S. senator, would have to seek companionship through anonymous liaisons in public restrooms. The reluctance of most elected officials to acknowledge committed relationships between consenting adults is part of the problem. Craig, along with most of his Republican colleagues in the House and Senate, has decried the decline of American society in opposition to civil unions and same-sex marriages.

If it weren't for the fact that the person allegedly seeking companionship in a public restroom was a powerful, conservative, Republican U.S. senator, the gay community might be much more exercised about this kind of sting operation. It hardly seems the best use of police officers to wait around in public restrooms to see who might be interested in an anonymous encounter.

Let's be clear. I'm not defending the practice of gay men looking for love in public restrooms. It is not only unsafe, but it also promotes the stereotype that all gay men are somehow deviants with uncontrollable urges. Most gay men don't cruise restrooms any more than most straight folks cruise airport food courts.

So I don't condone the behavior - not just because it would certainly make for an uncomfortable situation for straight guys like me in public washrooms - but because it is plain sad.

The point is that we send mixed messages about acceptable behavior. Most elected officials oppose legal protections for same-sex partners that would legitimize their relationship. At the same time, gays are often damned professionally and personally when they are public about their sexual orientation.

Because of this lack of tolerance, some gay men choose to find companionship in ways that are unsafe and unhealthy and that damage the strides made by the equal rights movement.

As George Will said on "Meet the Press" recently, Craig was arrested for something that happens at 10,000 straight bars across America every Friday night. So what's the real issue? Is it that a conservative Republican senator is gay and unwilling to admit it? Is it that we think cruising public restrooms is so rampant it has become the No. 1 public safety priority? Or is it just another tactic in the partisan battles to score points on the other side?

Let's hope the latest casualty in the morality wars will make us all think about the role of not just senators, but also citizens - including those of us who are straight - in promoting real equality for all Americans.