SFist: AP Tackles Proposition K, Prostitution, and Pot

tedlow

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:06:10 -0800

Just read Harmon Leon’s new book, The American Dream: Walking in the Shoes of Carnies, Arms Dealers, Pot Farmers, and Christian Believers. He goes undercover and lives many people perception of the American Dream by walking in their shoes. The funniest chapter by far is when he goes undercover and works on a pot farm in Mendocino. The biggest fear on a pot farm is not being busted by the DEA but robbery. Harmon concluded you could probably rob the pot farm he was on with a pen knife and affected raspy voice. I highly recommend the book. You can check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1568583524/ref=s9sdps_c1_14_at3-rfc_g1-frt_p-3237_g1_si7?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0JNZX0XR42X3VWQYQH0J&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383391&pf_rd_i=507846

tedlow

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:18:02 -0800

San Francisco I Am has a great video on whether illegal cannabis clubs are really hurting medical marijuana patients with California Attorney General's recent crackdown down on medical cannabis clubs. You can check out the video here: http://www.sanfranciscoiam.com/videos/0faa12024b6c San Francisco Iam also has a lot of other interesting video journalism bringing us stuff that the mainstream media isn’t.

spysea

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:50:24 -0800

San Fran’s Prop K: A Very Bad Short-Sighted Idea ? Most people who know me will be very surprised that I don’t support SF’s Prop K. This is the bill that many claim will decriminalize prostitution in San Francisco and anyone who knows me knows that I’m a fairly strong proponent of that. So why do I believe Prop K is short-sighted? Prop K doesn’t actually decriminalize prostitution. It will be a city law and laws against prostitution are state laws. What Prop K does is say that the City cannot spend any money enforcing the state prostitution laws. It prevents city police from arresting anyone for prostitution. It does not, in any way, limit the city from investigating, arresting, and prosecuting people for crimes such as human trafficking or underage prostitution. So far, so good. With Prop K someone can establish a brothel anywhere in the city they want. They can put up any signage they want. Streetwalkers will be able to ply their wares on any corner or in front of any store. I’m all for ending our wars on prostitution. SF spent between $2.8 and $11 million last year enforcing prostitution laws and yet they have just as much prostitution as any other city. Civil prohibitions against personal vice are simply not realistically enforceable, no matter how much money we spend. As Steven Levitt noted in his 2007 draft paper on prostitution – “A prostitute is more likely to have sex with a police officer than to get officially arrested by one.” Our laws don’t reduce activity, they only drive it underground which makes life that much easier for human traffickers to enslave women of all ages and makes things that much more dangerous for the prostitutes and their clients. And the list goes on and on. Our war on prostitution causes far more problems than the original problem it was intended to solve. However, I’m also a proponent of limited (VERY LIMITED) regulation. I have no problem with sex workers who provide outcall services going anywhere in the city to meet a client. A brothel next to a school or streetwalkers on any corner is another matter. Not just for me, but for most people in San Francisco. With legal prostitution cities need to be able to, within reason, regulate where businesses are located. They need to be able to establish zones where indoor brothels or red light windows can be located and what kind of advertising they may post on the outside of their buildings. They need to be able to limit where streetwalkers may ply their trade. Prop K may not allow this. Depending on one’s reading of the laws it may be impossible to establish any zoning under Prop K. Here’s what I fear will happen. The average San Francisco sexworker is not a wallflower. Just watch many of the annual parades with Scarlet Harlot and her entourage if you don’t believe me. With no boundaries they will go wherever they want and do whatever they want to get attention and make money. If I were them I’d do the same. That’s the point. Find as many potential customers as possible so you have the greatest choice of who you service and can make the most money with the fewest hassles. Many people who support decriminalization will find a brothel across from their favorite kids store or streetwalkers in front of their favorite café. “This isn’t what I signed up for.” They’ll say. The political types in city hall will start getting engulfed in complaints. Now, the average politicians way of dealing with things is brash and trash. Nuance is not their strong suit. While a good option at this point would be very moderate regulation, they’ll instead pontificate on the need to reverse Prop K. Instead of finding a way to establish some reasonable zones for brothels, windows, and streetworkers, they’ll go full throttle back to the current failed attempts at civil enforcement of prostitution laws. Instead of a proposition on the 2011 ballot to allow the moderate regulation that Prop K doesn’t allow, expect a proposition to abolish Prop K. And it will likely pass with a large margin. And you know what, prostitution won’t go down any, but complaints will. The bulk of prostitution will go back underground and streetworkers will re-congregate to ‘safer’ areas. People will be less likely to complain about it, even when they see it near their favorite café, if they just think the cops are doing something about it, than if not. After this it could be 50 years before anyone can even think of decriminalizing prostitution again in San Francisco. And worse, anytime decrim is brought up anywhere else, all the opponents will need to do is point to the failed decriminalization in San Francisco of 2008 and the battle will be done.

Violet_Palmer

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:33:39 -0800

I'm Violet. I'm a real live sex worker. The picture isn't intended to show me working, just that I'm a regular person waiting for the bus. Sex workers ride the bus too, you know. The leg warmers are polka dotted, although whales would be their own cute idea. I dressed like a regular person in order to help dispel the stereotypes of sex workers. Ok, in real life I'd never wear stripes and polka dots at the same time! I've worked in the sex industry for six years. I'm no more or less representative of sex workers than are the women working on the street in the Tenderloin (although street based sex workers make up only about 10%). Sex workers are an incredibly diverse group of people. Some of us choose the work because we love it, some of us do it out of economic necessity. But whatever the reason someone is doing it, arresting them doesn't help anything. Once you give someone a record, it becomes very difficult to find other employment. The city is wasting money that could be spent addressing violent crime or providing voluntary social services. Vote yes on Prop K if you care about the public health and safety!

withak

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:13:37 -0800

I wonder if the woman waiting for the bus in the picture knows that she is a prostitute in the news.

slava8

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:31:03 -0800

About child prostitution: it has already been decriminalized in California with a pilot program in Alameda County. Children should not be treated as criminals. http://www.foxreno.com/news/17577750/detail.html

p940e

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:31:42 -0800

Great Post! More from Tiffany please.

Slappydafrog

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:12:06 -0800

Yeah, what "The Sonia Show" said, thinking that woman looks like a lot of the women waiting for the bus.

oskarv

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:53:56 -0800

i think prop. k might be a step in the right direction, but i wish they could do more. the prostitutes and their clients should really pay taxes.

slava8

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:53:13 -0800

It is always the same with these ballot initiatives. The opposition does not have to prove it is a bad idea, they just have to prove that there are "unintended consequences." If the opposition wants to stop sex slavery, why aren't they doing anything about it now? There have not been any prosecutions for trafficking in the past two years in SF. How can you get any worse than that? The National Lawyers says that trafficking prosecutions will increase if prop k passes. That was an INTENDED consequence, no matter what the opposition says. They are just trying to confuse people, and it is BS. Prop K is a good idea.

joshb

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:42:02 -0800

Wow. That's just some random woman waiting for the bus on Market Street. Probly the 6 or the 71, based on my sense of stereotypes.

Grrg

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:39:08 -0800

This is a fantastic post. More from this "Tiffany" person, please!

ihartsf

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:30:33 -0800

Static and hand waving aside, I'm voting No on Proposition K. It's heart is in the right place, but it's fraught with unintended consequences. Many of the concerns behind it are valid, but many protections are already in place or can be put in place through the legislative process.

periqueblend

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:37:17 -0800

if you wanted your friends to know the 'real' san francisco, you would have to show more than coit tower, unless that was indeed your gilded experience. as i see it, the idea behind prop K is to make easier for the 'tutes to go to the cops. I don't think this is the best way to do that. Because wouldn't also increase sex slavery since you could snatch a chick in Romania and turn her into a cash machine on Polk street?

GlenParker

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:26:54 -0800

Why would you show an ugly cracked-out tranny whore to the rest of the country? If you were proud of your city would you show friends pictures of the Golden Gate bridge or shots of some homeless guy taking a dump on the sidewalk? I think someone is jealous over a pretty, young prostitute.

DJTennessee

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:09:48 -0800

One recent afternoon in the Mission District, six prostitutes were plying their trade on a single block. One recent afternoon?

The Sonia Show

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:29:47 -0800

"Violet" looks like every other girl in SF waiting for the bus. She doesn't look like the prostitutes I see in the Tenderloin. Maybe the reporter should have walked just a couple more blocks to 6th and Turk.

elihu_hernandez13

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:22:04 -0800

About Proposition K: Many people in this city are worried that if Prop K passes, it will be a cattaist for Child prostitution to continue to plauge our city streets. In reality, if Prop K passes, it wil be a better chance for Police to see who is on the streets and make sure women, and men are safe from physical assults, and terany.

DaveRocks

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:13:54 -0800

I dunno though. Don't prostitutes ALREADY walk around San Francisco without fear of arrest? Just take a stroll around Polk and Ellis late one night. You'll be accosted by tranny prostitutes wanting your business while watching police cars drive by on their way to the local pizza shop.