Enough fretting....... What can we do?

[+ glennnn]

Yes, Homeland's raid is heinous, insulting, frightening, threatening etc., etc. What do we do about it? iT NEEDS TO BE FIXED.

 

I've already mentioned that I am a rather mature man; the first president of which I was aware was Truman! So, in my lifetime I've seen an astounding change in the whole status of homosexual men. When I was pubescent, it really was " the love that dare not speak it's name". No role models, no help, no rights. We didn't even know about m/m sex beyond the use of the hand and the mouth, and I, for one, was so filled with self loathing as soon as I ejaculated, I NEVER spoke to my lovers afterwards, just got away from the scene of the crime ASAP.

 

Stonewall was real! All of us were in danger. Now we can marry! Do you have any idea how earthshaking that is to me. It changed because brave gay men and women changed it, taking down the Bastille one rotten brick at a time for 50 years. Now we must work to free the sex workers, male and female who grace our world and our lives.

 

The point is, we are full citizens! We have rights, and we have money, and political power. We need to talk, plan and act.The battle isn't over, mes amis. To the barricades, today.

 

legalize prostitution.

[+ glennnn]

Awesome you have money, step 1. Now go find others who have money that are on the same page as you are hire a dream team of lobbyist and lawyers and grease up the pockets of a few politicians with loud mouths and you might have a shot at legalizing prostitution. Your complaints are going no where without what I outlined. Hope it helps.

Right! Okay. We need a celebrity to give us a face. Any ideas out there? Any contacts ?

[Irtwo]

Where are you quoting Killian from?

[BabyBoomer]

Where are you quoting Killian from?

 

It was post #2 in this thread. Killian deleted it within minutes after posting.

 

~ Boomer ~

[BabyBoomer]

Ya caught me! Ha. It's one of those things where I want to post but then think what's really the point. But alas you caught me.

 

Lol. I saw it and moved on. The credit for capturing it goes to Glennn.

 

~ Boomer ~

[+ glennnn]

Lol. I saw it and moved on. The credit for capturing it goes to Gle ~

 

Killian,

Do you feel that the legalization of prostitution is unreachable or just a daunting task? You are smart, influential and young, find your role. Talk to people, contribute, vote, March, protest, It may take years, but it can be done. I only dreamed that gays in America would be as accepted as they are today. Still much to do, and this is just part of the fight. Sexual issues should not be considered dirty or illegal. As long as children and other innocents are protected, sex should be an individual's concern. Amnesty International is speaking out, we should, too. We are only tall because we stand on the shoulders of our brothers.

 

Legalize Prostitution

[rvwnsd]

Killian,

Do you feel that the legalization of prostitution is unreachable or just a daunting task? ...

My read of Killian's comment is that he is asking you to go out and do what you are suggesting. My first suggestion to you is to refrain from using the word prostitution. My second suggestion is for you to carefully consider the message you wish to send. Do you want to push for legalizing all forms of sex work, including that which is the result of human trafficking and forced prostitution? Or, do you want to legalize sex work that is done voluntarily, without the use of a pimp that keeps most of the worker's earnings, mistreats them when they do not bring enough cash, and rapes them whenever they feel like? Like many issues, this one is complex.

[+ glennnn]

My read of Killian's comment is that he is asking you to go out and do what you are suggesting. My first suggestion to you is to refrain from using the word prostitution. My second suggestion is for you to carefully consider the message you wish to send. Do you want to push for legalizing all forms of sex work, including that which is the result of human trafficking and forced prostitution? Or, do you want to legalize sex work that is done voluntarily, without the use of a pimp that keeps most of the worker's earnings, mistreats them when they do not bring enough cash, and rapes them whenever they feel like? Like many issues, this one is complex.[/QUOT

 

Good comments. I'm not sure what message I want to send. I mostly want to start a dialogue and get us all to thinking. There has been much hand wringing online over what the Homeland raid at Rent Boy portends for the escorts and their clients, and it is time to be proactive. As I said, children and innocents should be protected, the power of the pimp should be curtailed, and the worker's financial and human rights should be secured.

It's not a message that I wish to send by myself. I'm 73. I won't live to see the end of this fight, but I still want to be a part of it. I want you, rvwnsd, and everyone else to be a part of it. I'm not saying I have an answer, I'm just saying to those interested that now is the time to start working on the next big push in equal rights for all. We are not weak; we don't have to be victims.

 

I don't think I am foolish, but if I have made a fool out of myself, if I am too pushy, I apologize.

 

Legalize voluntary sex work by willing adults. ( is this better?)

[mike carey]

Do you want to push for legalizing all forms of sex work, including that which is the result of human trafficking and forced prostitution? Or, do you want to legalize sex work that is done voluntarily, without the use of a pimp that keeps most of the worker's earnings, mistreats them when they do not bring enough cash, and rapes them whenever they feel like?

To me this is a false distinction. A lot of activities are legal, but other things sometimes done in conjunction with them are not, or are regulated. Sex work should be legal. If it results from human trafficking, it is the trafficking that should be illegal not the sex work. If governments say that sex work resulting from human trafficking is illegal, that means that the whole package is against the law and even leaves it open to law enforcement to punish the sex work and ignore the trafficking. With Rentboy we saw trafficking being trotted out as the pretext for pursuing sex work in which no trafficking was alleged to have been involved. There must be legislation against human trafficking but it does not need to criminalise the sex work that flows from it any more than it needs to criminalise restaurant work for which some trafficking takes place. The same appplies to forced prostitution. It is the coercion that should be criminalised, not the sex work.

[calrichmond]

Here's a thought. Homeland security is funded by tax dollars and was created to fight terrorism. A large part of their job is security at airports. The Rentboy raid had nothing to do with security and was really a local matter to be handled by the DA and police department of the appropriate jurisdiction.

 

Writing our congressmen and senators to curtail homeland security to its purpose would be a start. Asking that their funds be cut as it appears they are interfering in local matters rather than focusing on terrorism. Homeland security is NOT the moral police.

 

Anyway, I will follow thru tomorrow and send my letters. I know my local congressman would not support this. My understanding is that complaints about government agencies are forwarded to that agency. A few letters from the same district would be speaking for thousands. People complain all the time but rarely write letters. Phone calls are useful, but my understanding is that a letter makes the issue more easily tracked and investigated.

 

Instead of creating anxiety for all the escorts who had profiles on Rentboy, I would prefer more attention on sex trafficking of minors and women from Eastern Europe forced into prostitution. I mean, if they have extra resources saving children seems a better use of money.

[killianjamesnyc]

I found this very very interesting. I'm doing some brushing up on allowable deductions for AHEM, office furniture..and I came across this on guidelines for pub. 535. DHS is now an integral part of human trafficking. I don't know what to make of this but it's all very very interesting to learn how everything is being woven together from a monetary standpoint.

 

2014: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p535--2014.pdf

 

2013: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p535--2013.pdf

[pabiguy99]

Killian,

Do you feel that the legalization of prostitution is unreachable or just a daunting task? You are smart, influential and young, find your role. Talk to people, contribute, vote, March, protest, It may take years, but it can be done. I only dreamed that gays in America would be as accepted as they are today. Still much to do, and this is just part of the fight. Sexual issues should not be considered dirty or illegal. As long as children and other innocents are protected, sex should be an individual's concern. Amnesty International is speaking out, we should, too. We are only tall because we stand on the shoulders of our brothers.

 

Legalize Prostitution

 

When I was in High School in 1979, I sponsored a bill in Student Congress to legalize prostitution. It had 15 amendments. I presented the bill to over 500 students from around the region. And guess what? It Passed!! The public would support a bill to legalize prostitution.

[+ glennnn]

I agree. Increasingly people are willing to live and let live on many issues if it does not negatively impact them. Maybe all civil rights struggles finally gain acceptance because of lack of real interest on the part of millions of really busy people. "Fine! Just shut up about it", is their attitude. It is all in the presentation. How about..... Regulate the Sex Industry? Civil Rights for Sex Workers? Our escorts are human beings that obviously serve a fundamental need in our society. What hypocrites we are if we don't help them.

[+ glennnn]

I've written letters to my two senators, my governor and my House Rep. No replies yet.

[geminibear]

I've written letters to my two senators, my governor and my House Rep. No replies yet.

I've written letters to my two senators, my governor and my House Rep. No replies yet.

 

You could start and online petition at Change.Org

[adannyboy]

decriminalization > legalization.

[buckguy]

The momentum from the raid seems to have fizzled. The attempt by libertarians to hijack the anger for their own purposes probably didn't help. Sex work faces many mundane problems in terms of organizing--it's not a lifelong profession for most people. The most vulnerable sectors (e.g., street based) involve survival and have multiple layers of distrust. Then there is the stigma which makes it difficult to get mainstream activists and their wallets on board. You really need more than rhetoric. You need pragmatic strategies to overcome these barriers,

[MiamiLooker]

The momentum from the raid seems to have fizzled.

Obviously, the forum clients are to blame for this.

[seaboy4hire]

The momentum from the raid seems to have fizzled. The attempt by libertarians to hijack the anger for their own purposes probably didn't help. Sex work faces many mundane problems in terms of organizing--it's not a lifelong profession for most people. The most vulnerable sectors (e.g., street based) involve survival and have multiple layers of distrust. Then there is the stigma which makes it difficult to get mainstream activists and their wallets on board. You really need more than rhetoric. You need pragmatic strategies to overcome these barriers,

 

And how did the libertarians attempt to hijack the issue for their own purpose? Again, attacking a group that has been pro gay before it was cool isn't cool.

 

Hugs,

Greg

[Silas X.]

Let's be clear that a lot of the public trafficking narrative and legislation passed is funded by the Christian right and is based on the assumption that women aren't capable of making a rational decisions to enter the industry. In Alaska 3 of the 4 people arrested under the new anti-trafficking legislation were women charged with trafficking themselves (i.e., Amber Batts). If I decide to hire security or someone to do my booking, or share an apartment with other workers for business purposes, what's wrong with that? Yet most laws would legally define the people that I hire as pimps and the apartment as a brothel. Nobody wants exploitation, but there's a hidden agenda used against sex workers in current narrative.

 

If you want to get involved there are plenty of sex worker-led organizations that can use your support - be it financial or advocacy. Do a google search and find out about local organizations or support the national efforts. There's plenty to be done!