Holy simoly. An amazing piece of legislation. The NC General Assembly is considering a bill to make pimpin' an offense that would require registration as a (wait for it) Sex Offender! People convicted of "sex trafficking" would be required to have their names added to the sex offender registry. It appears that Dan Blue is the only guy in the legislature with any sense.
A state Senate committee Thursday approved a local senator's bill that would require those convicted of human trafficking, or pimps, to register as sex offenders.
But approval came after considerable debate over the scope of the sex offender registry. Several senators expressed concern about adding the crime to the registry because it places offenders not convicted of sex crimes on the list.
"Sex offenses are unique," said Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake. "We need to keep them separate as much as possible.
Sen. Thom Goolsby, R-New Hanover, filed his Sex Trafficking/Sex Offender Registration bill last week. Goolsby said he understood Blue's concern, and he was open to creating a separate registry but wasn't sure if that was possible.
Sen. Dan Soucek, R-Watauga, was concerned that creating a separate registry might be more problematic. "We don't want to create a loophole that is an exception," Soucek said. Goolsby argued during Thursday's committee meeting said he'd rather err on the side of victims.
"This is the only registry we have," Goolsby said. "If someone enslaves another human being, we still want those people registered."
More after the jump...
Look: A sex offender is someone so dangerous to the community that they are subjected to public shaming even after they have served their time in jail. The point is not the shame, but the warning to society. So, child molesters, rapists. I think this is rather medieval, but at least there's an argument that the information is useful to people to decide how to watch this evil-doer.
Sex trafficking is the enslavement of another person for the purpose of selling that person for sexual services. It is involuntary on the part of person being sold or rented. This is a very serious crime. It is also relatively rare. I will accept that someone who facilitates the selling of sexual services by a minor is also a "trafficker," because the minor cannot give consent.
Now, a pimp is not a sex offender. A pimp is not even a "human trafficker." A pimp is someone who provides brokerage and protective services to prostitutes. And prostitutes are people who voluntarily sell their services in the sex industry. For Goolsby to say, "If someone enslaves another human being..." and then apply that to pimps, is outrageous.
It is true enough that some pimps take advantage of the fact that prostitutes have a very weak position before the law. But the solution to THAT is to legalize prostitution, so that prostitutes can ply their perfectly honorable trade indoors, with medical care and safe clean surroundings. The institution of the pimp only exists because we make prostitution illegal. It is bizarre to then claim that pimps enslave women. The STATE enslaves women.
This recent article in Reason points out the dangerous trend toward using "sex trafficking" to describe the entire sex industry. But this new law in NC is trying to go far beyond even the problems described by Reason.
A state Senate committee Thursday approved a local senator's bill that would require those convicted of human trafficking, or pimps, to register as sex offenders.
But approval came after considerable debate over the scope of the sex offender registry. Several senators expressed concern about adding the crime to the registry because it places offenders not convicted of sex crimes on the list.
"Sex offenses are unique," said Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake. "We need to keep them separate as much as possible.
Sen. Thom Goolsby, R-New Hanover, filed his Sex Trafficking/Sex Offender Registration bill last week. Goolsby said he understood Blue's concern, and he was open to creating a separate registry but wasn't sure if that was possible.
Sen. Dan Soucek, R-Watauga, was concerned that creating a separate registry might be more problematic. "We don't want to create a loophole that is an exception," Soucek said. Goolsby argued during Thursday's committee meeting said he'd rather err on the side of victims.
"This is the only registry we have," Goolsby said. "If someone enslaves another human being, we still want those people registered."
More after the jump...
Look: A sex offender is someone so dangerous to the community that they are subjected to public shaming even after they have served their time in jail. The point is not the shame, but the warning to society. So, child molesters, rapists. I think this is rather medieval, but at least there's an argument that the information is useful to people to decide how to watch this evil-doer.
Sex trafficking is the enslavement of another person for the purpose of selling that person for sexual services. It is involuntary on the part of person being sold or rented. This is a very serious crime. It is also relatively rare. I will accept that someone who facilitates the selling of sexual services by a minor is also a "trafficker," because the minor cannot give consent.
Now, a pimp is not a sex offender. A pimp is not even a "human trafficker." A pimp is someone who provides brokerage and protective services to prostitutes. And prostitutes are people who voluntarily sell their services in the sex industry. For Goolsby to say, "If someone enslaves another human being..." and then apply that to pimps, is outrageous.
It is true enough that some pimps take advantage of the fact that prostitutes have a very weak position before the law. But the solution to THAT is to legalize prostitution, so that prostitutes can ply their perfectly honorable trade indoors, with medical care and safe clean surroundings. The institution of the pimp only exists because we make prostitution illegal. It is bizarre to then claim that pimps enslave women. The STATE enslaves women.
This recent article in Reason points out the dangerous trend toward using "sex trafficking" to describe the entire sex industry. But this new law in NC is trying to go far beyond even the problems described by Reason.
7 comments:
For that matter, the sex offender list is already too broad. An 18 year old who has sex with his 17 year old girlfriend can be convicted of statutory rape and have to go on the list, already making it too hard to identify those who are actually dangerous to the community.
If that's the objective of registration, it's badly in need of modification in the opposite direction from Sen. Goolsby's intent.
It doesn't just have to be an 18 year old and 17 year old. On Guam, two minors can have consensual sex, and the older one face life in prison.
http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013302260302
The Trenton guy was accused of using "violence and threats of violence to..." Do I even need to finish that? That's assault and battery already. Let's add on: he allegedly did this over an extended period. Does his strategy for monetizing his bad behavior really matter?
Greetings,
Why don't you check out http://www.facebook.com/pages/HUMAN-TRAFFICKING-NEWS-DAILY-NEWSFEED-ON-GLOBAL-HUMAN-TRAFFICKING/173185018143 and find out what human trafficking is all about.
Countries where Human Trafficking had been legalised suffer many times more victims of Ht than countries like Sweeden where it is strictly Policed.
Your views on this matter are outdated and far from the truth.
And for the record I am not a Bleeding Heart Liberal but someone who deals with this type of crime!
I know this is old, but I hope to god you have changed your view on this. Pimps prey on the vulnerable. Women and children. They trick and manipulate and flat out kidnap young boys, little girls, and women. They could be 25 or 9. Some even have parents who are in the industry and start selling them whenever they run out of drugs. Recent women in my state was finally arrested after a concerned neighbor called for renting out the body of her 7 year old girl. These are not homeless people and junkies. They abduct girls from their schools. The pimp can either manipulate the person, maybe threatening their families or telling them they deserved it until they break or beat them, move them to a different state where they don't know anyone, get them hooked on drugs, and if nothing works they could just kill them. It's inspiring that the human will to survive is so strong that there are people that come out of that brave enough to tell their folks. You can arrest the prostitute and then what? They go abduct a different one from a suburb and threaten their families. I hope they adopt policies like that in my city because right now, there are 15 year olds getting put in juvy for prostitution while the people making the profit from it go free.
Go figure you have fucking comment moderations
And by the way, it is not "rare" that this happens. Open your eyes.
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