Proposition K-- Any thoughts?

If the proposed law is what the workers in the industry want, then I'm for it.

I'm in favour of legalization theoretically of course, who in their right minds wouldn't be?

SFMIKE said:

For those who do not know, this is a ballot measure in the city and county of San Francisco which would essentially legalize prostitution.

Personally I always thought it was legal. LOL.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/05/BAQ01387OA.DTL

Tune in Wednesday for the results.

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The ballot is to decriminalize prostitution, not legalize it. That is a big difference, believe it or not.

Amsterdam made prostitution legal quite a while back and the net effect was that it became less dangerous for the sp workers having there trade out in the open and having access to law enforcement to protect them. They also paid taxes on their income like anyone else which is probably not common in our legal system.

There is probably a case for increase tourist trade as well. I am sure there are negative aspects of it like anything else but the Dutch seem to be happy with the change.

San Francisco

You gotta love San Francisco. Not only because its one of the most beautiful cities in the West Coast but because its what you call a live-and-let-live town. Where feeling the earth shake is normal, where medical marijuana clubs do business next to grocery stores, where people voted for free citywide wireless and impeaching Bush. BTW, besides Proposition K there's also another Proposition R in the ballot which tends to rename the city's sewage plant to George W. Bush Plant.

Inspite of being a liberal city, Proposition K still faces an uphill battle in SF as the local officials and the moneyed right-wing groups are totally opposed to it. If the Republican Party destroyed the billion dollar on-line gaming industry years back to make the conservative right happy - the more they'll do everything to kill this proposition. Plus, they tried the same thing in nearby Berkeley in 2004 and 2/3 of the people voted against it. However, based on the poll numbers, Proposition K has a better chance of passing as compared to McCain winning the presidency. Unless, of course you're watching the Republican cheerleader Fox News regularly.

Overall, this Proposition still needs some refinements. Might have to wait for the next elections when the Democrats are in power as the latter are one the biggest supporters of this proposition. For now, I'll settle for the sewage plant legacy.

I heard about this a few months ago and forgot about it, assuming it had no chance of passing (and it didn't).
Despite the headline, I'm not sure the word "decriminalization" is accurate either, since it apparently only involved not spending money to enforce the laws, without actually repealing them.

Now for a tangential rant inspired by the opposition proponents mentioned in the article:

Isn't it about time more serious mainstream media commentators grew a pair and started pointing out that this massive hysteria over sex slave trafficking is a gigantic load of bullshit?

Ironically revealed recently by a columnist who buys into the hysteria:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=2cd6f659-68fb-4001-ad23-57cc587d6374

...a freedom of information request filed to Immigration Canada...

High-profile police raids on massage parlours, escort agencies or brothels haven't yielded a single victim...

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http://www.lewrockwell.com/spectator/spec51.html

http://www.dangardner.ca/Colmar1408.html

...the alleged link between legalization and sex trafficking, and (Victor) Malarek's evidence is, shall we say, less than compelling...

I've done extensive research on prostitution in the Netherlands and I've never heard of these studies anywhere but Malarek's book.

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http://www.thesouthernafrican.com/i...-to-revert-to-basics&catid=103:news&Itemid=27

...human trafficking stories...
...Ruth Hopkins was inspired by these headlines to embark on a costly five-year research to establish the extent of the problem in Europe, where this is said to be prevalent...

... 60 turned out to be genuine victims.
"Where are the thousands that we all report about," she asked...

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http://www.slate.com/id/2094896/

...hysteria parallels the white slave panic that consumed the United States in 1909 after McClure's magazine reported that flesh-peddling Jews were luring innocent country girls into sex slavery...

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http://labour.org.nz/our_mps/lianne...ty_of_sex_workers,_report_lianne_dalziel.html

...five years of the decriminalisation of prostitution...

" ...Removing the taint of illegality has empowered sex workers by reducing the opportunity for coercion and exploitation."

...the report shatters several myths with the following findings:
...
-There is no link in New Zealand between the sex industry and human trafficking.

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It's a step in the right direction for the environment and the economy. All the horn dogs in San Fran won't have to drive to Nevada anymore. The money they save on gas they can spend on the ladies, so there is extra pooning, plus no carbon emissions. Win Win for all concerned.

I was in SF shortly before the election and got to see a number of the commercials on tv trying to promote a "yes" or "no" on this one.

From what I gather, the prop simply disallows the spending on arrest and prosecution of prostitutes. It does not affect the ability to spend money on human trafficking or abuse investigations.

Some supporters of prostitution voted against Prop K because they claimed it was so poorly written. It did not restrict prostitution away from schools and did not enforce any kind of health screening.

Prop K was turned down at the recent election. It lost by 16 percentage points. Perhaps they'll have time to rewrite it and gain more supporters for the next election...

lady kassandra said:

...commercials on tv trying to promote a "yes" or "no" on this one...

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Who paid for the 'yes' commercials?
Even if there was some kind of Canadian association of sex workers who could afford TV ads to advocate decriminalization, would there be any television stations who would accept them? Seeing those anti-abortion and Salvation Army ads on the Victoria A-Channel, I doubt they would be interested.

HaywoodJabloemy said:

Even if there was some kind of Canadian association of sex workers who could afford TV ads to advocate decriminalization, would there be any television stations who would accept them?

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There is a number of sex worker organizations in Canada (easily googlable), and a court case challenging the prostitution laws is under way.
I don't have any answers for the second part of your question.