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posted by mrpg on Wednesday October 11 2017, @12:40AM   Printer-friendly
from the swipe-card-here dept.

A Washington, D.C. city councilmember has introduced a bill that would decriminalize prostitution:

D.C. Councilmember David Grosso is behind a bill that would decriminalize prostitution, arguing it's in keeping with his advocacy for human rights and marginalized communities. "We basically criminalize too many activities," Grosso argued in a recent news conference. "It is time for the District of Columbia to reconsider the framework in which we handle commercial sex work, and move from one of criminalization to a focus on human rights, health and safety."

Grosso says he worked with the Sex Worker Advocates Coalition, and followed recommendations from a variety of human rights organizations from around the world as he drafted the bill. "The bill is quite simple, really," argues Grosso. "It repeals a number of laws or parts of laws that criminalize adults for exchanging consensual sex for money or other things of value." "By removing criminal penalties for those in the sex trade, we can bring people out of the shadows, help them lead safer and healthier lives, and more easily tackle the complaints we hear from communities about trash or other nuisances."

If passed, D.C. would become the only city in the U.S. to decriminalize prostitution:

While prostitution has been legal in some parts of Nevada in the form of brothels for more than a century, what's often called "the world's oldest profession" remains criminalized in the rest of the United States. An effort to decriminalize prostitution via referendum in San Francisco failed in 2008, after heavy criticism from city officials at the time. Kamala Harris, then the city's district attorney and now a rising star senator, said the measure "would put a welcome mat out for pimps and prostitutes to come on into San Francisco."

But in the near decade since then, there's been a shift in perspective alongside a growing international movement further popularizing the policy change that sheds stigma in favor of pragmatism. The idea is that if sex workers don't fear arrest, they'll be able to access healthcare and other services. One 2014 study from The Lancet found that decriminalizing sex work could "have the largest effect on the course of the H.I.V. epidemic."

Reducing Criminalization to Improve Community Health & Safety Amendment Act of 2017

Also at Reason. Grosso press release at Scribd. HIPS.


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday October 11 2017, @02:37PM (6 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday October 11 2017, @02:37PM (#580482) Homepage Journal

    Sex is never free. You always pay, one way or another. With legalized prostitution the cost would be refreshingly up front and honest.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
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  • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday October 11 2017, @02:55PM (1 child)

    by Thexalon (636) on Wednesday October 11 2017, @02:55PM (#580492)

    It sounds like you need to get out more.

    I'm not talking about dating someone, or even picking them up after a couple of drinks. I'm talking about societies in which it actually works more along the lines of "I'm a woman, you're a man, let's do this. ... OK, that was fun, goodbye!" Societies that work that way tend to have economies of the form sometimes called "primitive communism" where most resources are shared among a few dozen people, so they don't have much by way of private property and no concept at all of individual inheritance, which makes things like child support a non-issue.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
  • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Wednesday October 11 2017, @06:41PM (3 children)

    by NotSanguine (285) <NotSanguineNO@SPAMSoylentNews.Org> on Wednesday October 11 2017, @06:41PM (#580679) Homepage Journal

    Sex is never free. You always pay, one way or another. With legalized prostitution the cost would be refreshingly up front and honest.

    I have to disagree with you there, Buzzard. I have, in my younger days, patronized prostitutes and yes, I did pay. I stopped doing so because I realized I wanted to have sexual interactions with people who wanted *me* and not my money. I'd point out that since then, I've had plenty of sex and more than a few relationships.

    I've also had these things called "romantic relationships" and "hookups" and a variety of things in between. Yes, I put my energy and time into those relationships, but it's not a quid pro quo, rather it's a mutually satisfying situation where all involved are happy to be there and happy to participate -- because they want to, not for some real or perceived material benefit.

    I've found that I want to be around (and in some cases, have sex with) those who want to be around me -- and not all of those.

    For me and my partners, sex isn't a transaction. It's an expression of affection, lust, friendship and sometimes even love.

    The idea that *all* romantic or sexual interactions boil down to some sort of material transaction is cynical in the extreme. Do you have any genuine friendships, or is everyone else just a means to getting what you want?

    Do you consider *every* MOTAS [urbandictionary.com] to be interested only in how they can materially benefit from their interactions with you? If so, that may well be why you don't have interactions with those who aren't interested in that.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday October 11 2017, @07:33PM (2 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday October 11 2017, @07:33PM (#580731) Homepage Journal

      Yes, I put my energy and time into those relationships...

      That's essentially what I was saying, yes. Given that the value of your time and energy fluctuate wildly depending on what's going on in your life, a prostitute is at times the cheapest option all around.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:26PM (1 child)

        by NotSanguine (285) <NotSanguineNO@SPAMSoylentNews.Org> on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:26PM (#580845) Homepage Journal

        Yes, I put my energy and time into those relationships...

        That's essentially what I was saying, yes. Given that the value of your time and energy fluctuate wildly depending on what's going on in your life, a prostitute is at times the cheapest option all around.

        Given that sex with a prostitute is essentially masturbation with assistance, I again disagree. That's why I don't frequent prostitutes or hop in the sack with any willing woman. I can do it myself more quickly, cheaply and easily.

        Once again, Heinlein has it pegged:

        Masturbation is cheap, clean, convenient, and free of any possibility of wrongdoing —and you don't have to go home in the cold. But it's lonely.

        For my part, sex with a prostitute isn't any less lonely than doing it myself.

        --
        No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr