Proposition K, Maxine Doogan, the First Amendment

[sam]

Keep trafficking out of city

By Ken Garcia
San Francisco Examiner 9/11/08

http://www.sfexaminer .com/opinion/columns/ken_garcia/ Keep_trafficking_out_of_city.html

It took nearly two years for authorities in Berkeley to extricate its
fragrant tree-huggers from their lofty heights on the UC campus,
pretty much cementing the city’s place as the wackiest in the West.
But wait — don’t count San Francisco out — it’s about to give
Berkeley another run for its (streetwalking) money.

Four years ago, Berkeley voters soundly rejected a measure to
decriminalize prostitution, which would have directed cops and
prosecutors to stop enforcing state laws on prostitution. Now, the
same ballot plan goes before San Francisco voters in November under
the guise of Proposition K, brought to us by the same sex-trade
worker who saw another sales opportunity across the Bay.

That person, Mary Ellen (Maxine) Doogan, happens to be a convicted
pimp who ran an escort prostitution agency in Seattle a little more
than a decade ago. Doogan was in Superior Court in San Francisco this
week with her attorney, Philip Horne, trying to get a judge to block
voter information for the ballot pamphlet that would have let people
know what Prop. K will do if passed.

The view from the experts: It would be very, very bad for prostitutes
and very, very good for pimps and sex traffickers.

The information Doogan sought to remove from voters included
statements that Prop. K would prevent the San Francisco Police
Department from seeking or accepting federal or state funds to
investigate organized-crime rings that exploit trafficking victims of
an identifiable race or nationality. And that it would “hobble” the
district attorney and the Police Department from investigating sex
trafficking.

You know, the kind of news that might prove useful if you cared about
the safety dangers to women and children created by the whole sex-trafficking
trade. Fortunately, most people see through such ludicrous and outrageous
legislation, but not, it turns out, the new leaders of the local Democratic Party,
which endorsed Prop. K and may pay a pretty price for their ideological hubris.

Judge Patrick J. Mahoney took Doogan’s arguments and pretty much
tossed them into the Bay, saying the ballot arguments against Prop. K
“fall well within the realm of the First Amendment,” which he added,
was a “pretty persuasive” argument.

Horne argued that the proposition said nothing about pimping or prostitution.
He said it only applies to “erotic services.”

When prostitution is erotic, I’ll be mayor.

[sam]

So now we've got women paid to fuck not called prostitution but "sex work" and we now also have women being paid to fuck not called prostitution but "erotic services."

If anti-K people brought in a lawyer to try and get the pro-prostitution arguments removed from a voter's pamphlet there would be an explosion at "sex worker rights" blogs. The john-apologists would write post after post in ALL CAPS all over what evil, silencing cunts radical feminists are, how much we hate freedom and are out to destroy women's liberty, and the Big Feminist Blogs would wring their pro-sex work hands and cry Big Feminist tears over how
unfair
unfair
unfair
it is to try and use top-down, dubious means to shut down criticisms from ever being seen.

Some would even say it's worse than being raped to be told that they can't speak their opinions publicly wherever and whenever they wanted.

It's hard out there if you're not a pimp.

[MaggieH]

So now we've got women paid to fuck not called prostitution but "sex work" and we now also have women being paid to fuck not called prostitution but "erotic services."

I'd say, "So now we've got women paid to be (ab)used by men not called prostitution but "sex work" and we now also have women being paid to be (ab)used by men not called prostitution but "erotic services." " instead. And= Ugh... to that.

Some would even say it's worse than being raped to be told that they can't speak their opinions publicly wherever and whenever they wanted.

Shocking! Yeah, Sam, I hate this fucked-up rape-minimizing mentality... Sickening!