Clearly CM Moore is very confident in the likely efficacy and theoretical basis for her proposed legislation. Between claiming to be afraid of public commenters and this nonsense she is the most absurd CM in recent history. Fortunately (for her) she never advocates for the working class or she'd quickly get the Sawant treatment from the local commentariat

If we were to legalize and allow licensed protitution or escort services, it would fix the entire issue. it would allow workers to utilize safer and more generally, out of public view platforms for advertizing their services instead of the 99 corridor, it would help reduce at least some of the decades of anxiety about workers contacting police in an emergency, it could even become tax revenue for the state. Additionally with legalization it would help make a legitamate class of workers and push out those who don't keep up on their screenings, creating a safer public health situation for everyone. They could accept cashless payments with less fear of being robbed at gunpoint or legal issues from accepting digital currency for an illegal trade. it would take money off the streets which may also go to people undesirable as well, like those who extort workers for protection, etc.

I sincerely do not understand how this bill will make one thing better, or safer what so ever. The people purchasing the services are not the root of the issue. The reality of the issue is that this city's brick and mortar foundation was built on sex work. We need to own that shit and make it safer for everyone in the community. It's never going to stop.

Also, great work Ashley! thanks!

@2 If sex work is to be legalized as you propose, arresting illegal practitioners will be an essential component of that. If people object to the practice of making street-level arrests at the point of sale (as it were), then they will have those same objections within any conceivable legal system.

@2: "If we were to legalize and allow licensed protitution or escort services, it would fix the entire issue."

Maybe. Maybe not. Amsterdam has had repeated problems with biker gangs and other organized crime trying to insert themselves into the (legal) business flow between the customers and the ladies sitting in the shop windows. Most are sole proprietors, renting a window and waving in the customers they want. But there have been repeated pushes to close down the windows, open brothels and put "management" into the revenue stream.

In some cases, the sex workers prefer some types of benign management. Someone to pay the rent and utilities, provide security and handle the daily drudgery that is part of every business. The problem is keeping that management benign. Perhaps instead of just legalizing and licensing the workers, pimps should be licensed as well. Much like the Nevada Gaming Commission exists in part to keep organized crime out of the business, regulated pimps could do much the same.

If you are voluntarily choosing to walk the streets for income, then you are not someone who is part of a marginalized, oppressed, or vulnerable community.

@2- allowing an escort to work in the White House for 4 years didn’t really help anything.

Cathy Moore did the right thing. Erica Barnett's blog should never be cited as a source for public policy. It is not a reliable source of unbiased scholarship.

Further, the paragraph at the end was full of the analyst's own politics that were contradicted by the facts forming the basis for the proposed ordinance. She's entitled to her feelings but not in a standalone white paper that's supposed to just be apolitical analysis.

All of the edits provided clarity & context. It was very well done.

@9 care to provide a "reliable source of unbiased scholarship" that supports Moore's proposal? Take as long as you need.

The memo cited actual arrest data showing that the johns were mostly white. Erica Barnett interviewed one public defender about their individual caseload, which does not encompass the whole of all johns that were arrested. They gave their opinion, not backed up by actual stats, and it's only a slice of the whole picture.

It was inappropriate to elevate the Barnett anecdote to the same level as data. It was rightly removed.

Legalization is not the answer. Abuse of brothel workers is prevalent in Nevada where it is still illegal to work independently. Sex work must be decriminalized and treated like any other self-employment to improve the situation. Then SPD can direct their efforts to arresting those who are breaking the law, not just providing a service in private.