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| Prostitution could be legalised in California after case is allowed to go forward | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A federal appeals court has opened the door to legalising prostitution in California. | A federal appeals court has opened the door to legalising prostitution in California. |
| The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco recently allowed a legal challenge to the statewide ban on prostitution to proceed. The ruling overturns a lower court's decision to toss the case out last year. | |
| During the Thursday hearing, conservative Judge Carlos Bea wondered aloud: “Why should it be illegal to sell something that it’s legal to give away?” | During the Thursday hearing, conservative Judge Carlos Bea wondered aloud: “Why should it be illegal to sell something that it’s legal to give away?” |
| The case was originally filed in 2015 by three unidentified former sex workers, one potential client, and the San Francisco-based Erotic Service Provider Legal, Educational and Research Project (ESPLERP). | The case was originally filed in 2015 by three unidentified former sex workers, one potential client, and the San Francisco-based Erotic Service Provider Legal, Educational and Research Project (ESPLERP). |
| The plaintiffs argue that the 145-year ban “unfairly deprives consenting adults of the right to private activity, criminalizes the discussion of such activity, and unconstitutionally places prohibitions on individuals’ right to freely associate”. | The plaintiffs argue that the 145-year ban “unfairly deprives consenting adults of the right to private activity, criminalizes the discussion of such activity, and unconstitutionally places prohibitions on individuals’ right to freely associate”. |
| ESPLERP president Maxine Doogan claimed being associated with prostitution today is akin to a “social death”. | ESPLERP president Maxine Doogan claimed being associated with prostitution today is akin to a “social death”. |
| “Our hope is to see this bad law struck down, so that consenting adults who choose to be involved in prostitution are simply treated as private citizens again, and are afforded all the privacy and constitutional rights thereof,” she said. | “Our hope is to see this bad law struck down, so that consenting adults who choose to be involved in prostitution are simply treated as private citizens again, and are afforded all the privacy and constitutional rights thereof,” she said. |
| Louis Sirkin, an attorney for the plaintiffs, cited a Supreme Court decision that struck down gay sex bans as evidence for their case. The 2003 ruling, in Lawrence v Texas, found that consensual sexual conduct was part of the “personal and private life of the individual,” and protected by the due process liberty right. | |
| The plaintiffs in this case, Mr Sirkin argued, are “voluntary individuals who want to engage in sexual activity”. | The plaintiffs in this case, Mr Sirkin argued, are “voluntary individuals who want to engage in sexual activity”. |
| “I believe people in this country have the right to act this way and to make a living this way,” he said, according to CBS News. | “I believe people in this country have the right to act this way and to make a living this way,” he said, according to CBS News. |
| The state, meanwhile, argued that the ban did not restrict consensual sex itself, but the sale and purchase of it. Deputy Attorney General Sharon O’Grady, the attorney for the state, argued that banning commercial sex helped protect against violence, drug use, and trafficking as well. | The state, meanwhile, argued that the ban did not restrict consensual sex itself, but the sale and purchase of it. Deputy Attorney General Sharon O’Grady, the attorney for the state, argued that banning commercial sex helped protect against violence, drug use, and trafficking as well. |
| “The state is not telling anyone who they can sleep with,” Ms O’Grady said. | “The state is not telling anyone who they can sleep with,” Ms O’Grady said. |
| California outlawed prostitution in 1872, with a law defining “every common prostitute” as a “vagrant”. Current California law defines prostitution as a misdemeanour punishable by up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. | California outlawed prostitution in 1872, with a law defining “every common prostitute” as a “vagrant”. Current California law defines prostitution as a misdemeanour punishable by up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. |
| A 2008 ballot measure to decriminalise prostitution in San Francisco failed by almost 60 per cent of the vote. | A 2008 ballot measure to decriminalise prostitution in San Francisco failed by almost 60 per cent of the vote. |
| Prostitution is illegal in every other US state, aside from a few counties in Nevada. Legislators in Hawaii also introduced a bill to decriminalise it in February. | Prostitution is illegal in every other US state, aside from a few counties in Nevada. Legislators in Hawaii also introduced a bill to decriminalise it in February. |