"It's a whole new opportunity for us to work with men we haven't been able to get to at our other venues," says proponent Oscar Lopez. The Midtowne Spa in Austin, which opened last summer, provides its customers with safer sex kits and information, and has hosted fund-raising events to benefit AIDS organizations. Some supporters have said the bathhouses should be allowed because they represent the sexual freedom of gay men. Gabriel Rotello, an author and activist who supports gay bathhouses and sex clubs, advocates regulations to prohibit customers from having unsafe sex. He is concerned that too many of the people arguing for individual freedom are overlooking the need to protect the community as a whole. "It's a whole new opportunity for us to work with men we haven't been able to get to at our other venues," says proponent Oscar Lopez. The Midtowne Spa in Austin, which opened last summer, provides its customers with safer sex kits and information, and has hosted fund-raising events to benefit AIDS organizations. Some supporters have said the bathhouses should be allowed because they represent the sexual freedom of gay men. Gabriel Rotello, an author and activist who supports gay bathhouses and sex clubs, advocates regulations to prohibit customers from having unsafe sex. He is concerned that too many of the people arguing for individual freedom are overlooking the need to protect the community as a whole.