Posted on 05/18/2021 10:12:34 AM PDT by TedMartin
From Greg Burt/CFC
SACRAMENTO - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and State Sen. Scott Wiener (D- San Francisco) have teamed up on a bill making its way through the legislature to decriminalize streetwalkers hanging out on street corners.
Wiener, who wants to make prostitution legal, says California police officers shouldn’t assume scantily clad women hanging out on street corners and talking to men driving by in cars are involved in prostitution.
“Arrests… are based on an officer’s subjective perception of whether a person is ‘acting like’ they intend to engage in sex work,” Wiener said in a press release.
Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva disputes this characterization and says the “underlying root” of the “loitering with the intent to commit prostitution” law is to “target sex buyers who seek to exploit.”
In his letter of opposition to SB 357, Villanueva explained the current loitering law, approved by the California legislature in 1995, helps police “keep prostitutes from hanging around public places, business, and residential communities, which can breed crime and drug use.”
Like Wiener, one of the bill’s sponsors, the ACLU of California, argues that loitering laws “create opportunities” for police to discriminate against racial and sexual minorities. As evidence, the ACLU wrote that black adults accounted for 56 percent of those charged with loitering for prostitution in Los Angeles between 2017 and 2019, “despite only making up 8.9 percent of the city’s population.”
While not discussing other causes or remedies for getting rid of this disparity, Wiener and the ACLU conclude getting rid of the loitering law is the only solution. But this conclusion is better understood when considering that Wiener and the ACLU have advocated for the complete legalization of prostitution.
One of the surprising supporters of SB 357 is the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, also known as CAST, which is known in California for helping women escape lives of prostitution by providing a variety of services including counseling, housing, mentoring, and legal resources.
The organization’s letter of support parroted the language used in the ACLU opposition letter, pointing towards the discriminatory way that police use the law to target minorities. CAST also said the loitering law doesn’t help trafficked women.
“Arresting sex workers or persons perceived to be sex workers creates environments where people, including survivors, will be arrested and creates barriers to accessing safe housing, legal employment, and overall quality of life,” wrote Leigh LaChappelle, CAST’s Associate Director of Survivor Advocacy.
“We, as an organization, who have been fighting to end sex trafficking for over 12 years in Central and Southern California, feel that repealing or amending this law will give traffickers more opportunities to place victims of sex trafficking on the street for sale,” Bennett said.
“Although not all sex workers are trafficked, our research shows that seven out of ten prostitutes are victims of sex trafficking. With more law enforcement officers being trained in identifying victims, this change to the law will eliminate the ability to ascertain whether or not an individual is on the street by choice or if someone is profiting off of them.”
San Francisco’s current district attorney, Chesa Boudin, promised when elected in 2019 to not prosecute cases involving quality-of-life crimes. Crimes such as public camping, offering or soliciting sex, public urination, blocking a sidewalk, etc., should not and will not be prosecuted," he said, according to Newsweek.
Now Wiener seems to want the rest of the state to follow San Francisco’s example. The bill has already passed the Senate Public Safety Committee and is now in the Senate Appropriation Committee. A decision on whether it will move forward to the Senate floor will be made on Thursday, May 20th.
Greg Burt is Director of Capitol Engagement for the California Family Council (www.californiafamily.org). He can be reached at gregb@californiafamily.org or (949) 244-2080.
Getting my popcorn 🍿 to see how this turns out....
This is a funny video on the topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMycRBIXTWk
I have no problem with it being legalized. I’m all for personal freedom to do destructive stuff to your own life. Regulate it with zoning laws.
Yuck
Someone needs to ask Kamala her “position” on this, on camera.
Heels up on her knees.
I think it should be legalized for those over 18. These ‘Sex Workers’ as they now like to be called should need to see a doctor at about twice a year to cut down on VD.
There should be certain areas where it this activity is not allowed, such as a schools or in residential neighborhoods.
Perhaps certain areas of the city will be zoned for this.
There should be some way to discourage the girls from having or needing Pimps. Let them manage their own ‘affairs’.
Will pimping be okay? Does weiner have a stable of hookers of his own?
Does each street get designated hookers with dental care?
She would probably give the (brave) questioner a look that could kill, and ask:
...Uhmm, Why are you asking ME that sort of question? I don’t do state policy anymore. Ask Gavin about that. NOT me!”
As long as your interests do not get in the way of my interests.
I’m not surprised to see politicians in California legalizing prostitution . It’s simply professional courtesy.
What is the purpose of prostitution laws?
Heck .. The CA state legislature is full of prostitutes and hookers. Some are re-elected over and over.. or were.. until term limits came into play.
It’s nothing more than an endorsement of the current V-P
It’s nothing more than an endorsement of the current V-P
That brings up an interesting point. Since Kalifornia is outlawing gig work, the girls would have to unionize or their pimps would have to form LLC’s and collect FICA taxes...lol
“I have no problem with it being legalized. I’m all for personal freedom to do destructive stuff to your own life. Regulate it with zoning laws.”
Ditto.
Senator Weiner gives the prostitutes a break.
Sure, legalize street prostitution by drug addicted, HIV infected, mentally ill slaves that are owned and trafficked by violent criminal organizations. What could go wrong?
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