The prisoner's rights debate takes on a new gay twist with two unrelated cases out of North and South Carolina.

A North Carolina prisoner named Joseph Urbaniak - who's serving up to 50 years after "taking indecent liberties with a child" - filed a suit against the state's Department of Corrections for denying him his favorite fag rags, like The Advocate.

Officials claim they have to withhold certain publications "for security and order in the prison". The ACLU, which wants the Department to provide a list of all banned publications, seems to sympathize with prison officials.

Spokesperson Jody Kent says, "Of course, the correction officials have a responsibility to protect the prisoner, so they often use that as a reason to ban certain materials." This argument holds water, yes, but only to a certain degree.

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