Don't Carry Condoms in D.C. -- You Could Be Charged With Prostitution

Unbelievably stupid - I know I'm supposed to write more than a one liner, but I am at a loss for words

womensrights.change.org...

reply to post by NTSFR3


I wonder if that law ever applies to men?

looks like when you buy your condoms you gotta leave ten at the shop.

This is going to require some interviews and undercover investigation ... I'm on it.

Actually on second thought maybe not ... knowing that neighborhood I can tell you that those girls ain't exactly the "A" team.

It really is a very stupid law. They're implementing it to keep newly gentrified areas prostitution free, but as the article states, the last think you would want is a hooker out of condoms.

Btw, in that area you can also get arrested/pulled over for turning right at intersections after 9pm to discourage "cruising" ... which is rather unfortunate cause there are loads of clubs and restaurants there.

Some of the crap they pull around here really makes you scratch your head, with this latest law, expect other areas to itch as well.

Well, I guess they don't play those "wrap it up" commercials over in D.C, NY, and San Francisco. If I read the article correctly, they said those states were guilty of this law too.

I think it's pretty funny, in a silly-unjust sort of way. I think I am going to go down to D.C and cover my car in condom lining with signs on my door that says "free condoms, take as many as you please". I wonder, if enough people take condoms if police will arrest them all, because I mean if 300 people takes 3 condoms each (not only will I bet out of alot of money) but they would need a whole squad to arrest us all!

I see where they are coming from, and what they are trying to do. But I don't really agree with it, but even still, I don't think this is a good implementation of a law that would be able to stop anything, just cause unneeded hassle for people who have more condoms *IF* the police wanted to. Which brings me to my final statement, how are police going to know how many condoms you have? We don't exactly have a condom counter on our speedometer...yet...

reply to post by NTSFR3


This is pretty troubling. In a city with an AIDS epidemic, it seems they are discouraging whores from using common sense precautions to protect themselves.


Source

UPDATE: Thanks to commenter Larry Roberts for pointing out that this is a problem in San Francisco, too. Turns out, New York City is also guilty. Stay tuned: another post and action updates to come!

Think you might get lucky tonight? Well, if you're in D.C., don't bring more than two condoms in your purse, or you could be arrested as a prostitute.

In D.C., police can declare "Prostitution Free Zones" where officers can pick up (I mean, arrest) anyone suspected of sex work. And they've been accused of using carrying three or more condoms as proof of intent to sell sex -- rather than intent to spend the weekend getting jiggy with a guy.

But as RH Reality Check points out, the real danger of this law falls to people who actually are sex workers. It pushes them to abandon safe sex techniques, putting their own health at risk as well as that of the general population. Add to this the fear of arrest or harassment that keeps sex workers from seeking health care, and you have a recipe for disaster. Everybody should know by now that the nation's capital has a rampant problem with HIV/AIDS; this backwards law contributes to its spread (at three times the rate that characterizes a severe epidemic). It's not like you can expect the johns to bring their own rubbers.

This law prioritizes making commercial areas look clean and pretty lady-free, not protecting the public's health.

If they really wanted to clean up all the whores in DC, don't you thing they should start with all of the ones working on Capitol Hill?

Why don't they just make it legal, it would solve all the problems of people 'cruising' for hookers.

The girls would have to take a physical and be certified, to keep disease's down, and they would pay taxes.

All these ridiculous 'morality laws' need to go.

By forcing prostitution out of places where it would more naturally be found, such as in brothels or near motels, the police drive that activity into the streets of neighborhoods where it otherwise would not exist. As a result, residents of the neighborhoods are exposed to the activity against their will....
Another problem with prostitution arrests is that they cause long-term increases in crime and drug abuse in society. Margo St. James, a former social worker and a leading advocate of legalizing prostitution, writes: "When a woman is charged for a sex crime, it's a stigma that lasts her lifetime, and it makes her unemployable."...

www.humanismbyjoe.com...

Stop criminalizing the acts of consenting adults, we have enough real crime to deal with.

Originally posted by ANOK
Why don't they just make it legal, it would solve all the problems of people 'cruising' for hookers.

The girls would have to take a physical and be certified, to keep disease's down, and they would pay taxes.

All these ridiculous 'morality laws' need to go.

Stop criminalizing the acts of consenting adults, we have enough real crime to deal with.

Ah, ya beat me to it. For some reason, even talking about such a proposition in normal social settings or in any form of political discussion will immediately get you labeled as slightly nutty.

If you want to get control over an industry that:

1) Requires no equipment
2) Requires no training
3) Requires no facilities
4) Has high demand
5) Has serious, dangerous, and far reaching health implications

to name a few, you'll be very hard pressed to get it right by simply outlawing it.

To me, the number 1 criteria for a crime should be if an act a) deprives one of property and/or b) violates their rights. Prostitution and drug use are health issues, not criminal issues, and should be treated as such.

America has been stupid about these things for decades now, don't expect rationality or common sense to enter into this debate for quite a long time.

About the condoms: DC is a ridiculous place run by ridiculous people poorly. I recommend to anyone living in DC in anything but quality accommodations (and locations) to sell anything they need to, so they can move out of DC.

DC itself keeps people poor, keeps crime high, and is a silly and sad place to be/live.

Originally posted by KrazyJethro

DC ... is a silly and sad place to be/live.

As opposed to where?

Originally posted by schrodingers dog

Originally posted by KrazyJethro

DC ... is a silly and sad place to be/live.

As opposed to where?

Compared to DC, you could pick almost anywhere else.

reply to post by KrazyJethro


Oh, what happened ... did someone cut you off when you drove in to the big city?

Meh, I've lived all over the world ... granted DC has a boatload of problems but so does everywhere else, just different ones. We're very happy here, but then again, the whole condom thing isn't really an issue for meez ... sex is sooo last century.

DC is one of my favorite places. It is a beautiful city with a lot to offer.
Almost 20% is park.
Has more Shakespeare productions then other city in the US.
It has fantastic dining from all over the world, many restaurants that have been there for generations. Many of the restaurants are highly rated.

If you want a night of good food and theater, it is the place to go. There are more then 40 theaters.

Has a lot of decent schools.

And not to mention the Smithsonians alone are worth your time.

reply to post by KrazyJethro


What it really comes down to is the folks who run around claiming to be living in a free society are the ones who are taking away the freedom of others by creating morality entrapments.

You can express yourself freely, but expect to be judged harshly by society for your views. Most people don't have the bollox to really rebel against societies morality norms, authority yes, but not the real world around them, the world you have to interact with everyday.

Most people are cowards, the fear of being judged keeps them from really being themselves, and saying what they really believe even though they don't actually realise it, such is the conditioning of our society. People don't think for themselves, they think from the context of their conditioning. This is why a Russian thinks differently to an American, even though we are all the same when we are born, an empty slate ready to be filled with the conditioning of the society we are born into.

This is why most people will take the morality view of the state without really questioning it, or even realizing it's not really an opinion they themselves have developed through their own experience or knowledge.

[edit on 1/10/2010 by ANOK]

So, the logical thing to do for sex workers is not carry condemns or stash them somewhere - which inevitably means diseases will spread and more people will die as a result. This just proves that cops are more interested in doing their job than protecting people.

Of course cops will argue that they don't write the laws - they enforce them. Somebody had to come up with this law that allows police to do this, and I think that somebody should be exposed.

It's not just the sex workers or johns who will get these diseases it's the people they interact with who might not know. How many children will go without parents because police don't care about the public?

Disgusting that police have become minions of evil who use laws to hurt the public instead of protecting them.