Minority government best chance to decriminalize sex trade?

[HaywoodJabloemy]

One year ago New Zealand decriminalized the sex trade.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisp...ection=&thesecondsubsection=&reportid=1162602

Much of Australia has already made similar reforms (the individual states and territories make criminal laws there). Their laws had previously resembled Canada`s.

In New Zealand it was a private member`s bill, introduced by Tim Barnett after almost three years of committees studying the issue. The bill passed by one vote.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisp...n=news&thesubsection=general&reportid=1162602

You`ll notice that Libby Davies, who was re-elected yesterday, says things very similar to Barnett in the article mentioned in this thread

https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=6020

and on her website.

http://www.libbydavies.ca/mpupdate/media.html

I suppose I`m biased, but I find it difficult to see how the committee in Canada would reach conclusions that differ greatly from the one in New Zealand. The parties are all afraid of this issue, but if it was a free vote on a private member`s bill, that would prevent the parties from having to take a position. I think most NDP, Bloc, and maybe Liberals also would vote for a well-thought out bill that reformed the laws in a positive way, with most Conservatives being against it.

One big problem is that a minority government might not last the two or more years it would likely take to reach the point of a vote on this. Maybe some of us on this board, particularly the women, should write a letter to encourage Ms. Davies to continue the committee as soon as possible.

 

[panties]

First thing we need to do is make it less of a taboo.

Most of us do not want to be outed for fear of being ostricized by a society that does not accept our behaviour (much like the gays were several years ago). Would you sign a publically-viewable petition?

It would be nice if someone made a film or documentary about this lifestyle without going into the cliche: exploited and abused women, mysoginstic men, men cheating on wives, STDs, pimps, underage girls, etc....

Come to think of it, even the portrayal of strip clubs is usually negative in film and on tv. Ever see the protagonists in a film go to a strip club and everything was a okay? I do remember an Episode of Friends where the girls took Chandler to a strip club and it turned out to be all fun and noone got hurt, but this is not the norm. Strip clubs are usually where the bad guys are in film. The strippers are usually beaten up or groped, etc...

Maybe I'll have to go to film school and make my own film about pooning (sans the negative stereotypes).

 

[HaywoodJabloemy]

I hadn't thought of a petition. Like you say, I guess there would be a lot of people unwilling to sign a publicly viewable petition or send a letter to a newspaper that would require identifying themselves.

But I believe it's possible to send a private letter or e-mail to a Member of Parliament. I suppose you could ask that she not make the letter public, and I doubt her or someone in her office would do something like that anyway without first getting your permission.

E-mail address listed on her site is daviel@parl.gc.ca