Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
    • Reason TV
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • Free Media
    • The Reason Interview
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • Freed Up
    • The Soho Forum Debates
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Log In

Create new account

Culture

South Dakota Lawmaker Begs Docs to 'Come Out' About Dangers of Anal Sex, 'Gay Lifestyle'

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 5.2.2014 11:45 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
Large image on homepages | Steve Hickey/Facebook
(Steve Hickey/Facebook)
Steve Hickey/Facebook

You can tell South Dakota Rep. Steve Hickey (R-Sioux Falls) is quite proud of the analogy he made in a recent anti–anal sex screed, titled "A One Way Alley for the Garbage Truck." Edgy! After submitting the letter to the Argus Leader, South Dakota's largest newspaper, Hickey also posted it to Facebook. "We'll see if they reprint it," he wrote. "Kristen hates the title. You probably will too. Doubt they use it…"

And yet, clearly, he found the garbage truck comparison just too good to pass up. He's also sure that more doctors would speak out against homosexuality if they didn't feel "silenced and intimidated." 

"Certainly there are board-certified doctors in our state who will attest to what seems self-evident to so many: gay sex is not good for the body or mind. Pardon a crude comparison but regarding men with men, we are talking about a one-way alley meant only for the garbage truck to go down. Frankly, I'd question the judgment of doctor who says it's all fine."

Frankly, I'd question the judgment of a lawmaker who refers to his anus as an alley and his poop as a garbage truck. But different strokes… 

Hickey goes on to tell South Dakota doctors that it's time "to come out of the closet and give your professional opinion on this matter like you capably and responsibly do on all the others." This belies perhaps the most amazing thing about Hickey's letter—he is utterly convinced that doctors must agree with him, and the only reason we hear that "eating at McDonald's will kill us but the gay lifestyle" won't is because no one's properly encouraged them in a strongly worded letter-to-the-editor yet.

"Truth be told it seems self-evident the list of side effects would read far longer than anything we hear on a Cialis commercial," writes Hickey. Translation: Come on, guys, butt sex has to be more dangerous than my boner meds! 

After a few paragraphs lamenting the existence of transgender teens, Hickey concludes by "issu(ing) a call to the medical and psychological communities and associations to weigh in publicly and timely on the matter of homosexuality and the human body, psyche and family, particular kids." Here, Rep. Hickey, LMGTFY…

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Friday A/V Club: When Satire, Slapstick, and Surrealism Collide

Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason.

CultureSouth DakotaLGBT
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (35)

Latest

On America's 250th Birthday, the United States Arms the World's Tyrannies

Matthew Petti | 7.4.2026 7:30 AM

1776 All-Stars: George Washington Was a Model of Restraint

Christian Britschgi | From the July 2026 issue

Review: This Iconic Musical Reminds Us That Open Debate Still Matters

Reem Ibrahim | From the July 2026 issue

Brickbats: July 2026

Peter Bagge and Joe Lancaster | From the July 2026 issue

Americans Will Never Shut Up or Do As We're Told

Matt Welch | 7.3.2026 7:45 AM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS Add Reason to Google

© 2026 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Reason's July 4 Special!

For America's 250th, Get 2 Years of Reason for $17.76

Celebrate your independence with a subscription to Reason magazine, your most trusted source of honest, insightful news and analysis.

Subscribe to Reason