Arizona Prostitution Bill with mandatory jail time

Sadly Signed by the Governor on Monday 5/8/06

I am not surprised.  Someday those trying to force street hookers on the public need to get serious about the huge public nuisance issue citizens will not put up with in their neighborhoods.   No one cares that maybe 90% of "prostitution" is private consenting adult respecting the public by not being on the streets.  Such facts get in the way of political and religious right agenda's.
 
Note that this is already the law in Phoenix but few people are convicted or serve any time due to plea bargains and often the County Attorney deciding to to prosecute the case, especially if officers participated in any sex.  All of Sheriff Joes busts were tossed.

Bill requiring jail for prostitutes now law

Associated Press
May. 9, 2006 12:00 AM
Gov. Janet Napolitano on Monday signed into law a bill to require jail time for prostitutes and their customers. The bill requires 15 days in jail for a first offense, 30 days for a second offense, 60 days for a third offense and 180 days for any additional offenses. Prostitution is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, but the bill mandates jail time and makes a fourth or subsequent offense a low-grade felony.

The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Chuck Gray of Mesa, said it would provide a statewide solution to a situation in which prostitutes go from one city to another to avoid local crackdowns. Gray said that the jail mandate is intended to get prostitutes off the street and into rehabilitation programs and that the felony provision would encourage repeat offenders to leave the state.

Opponents criticized both the mandatory jail time and the felony provision as obstacles to rehabilitation efforts.

Wise comments from a List Member:
 

As always we appreciate your insightful and intelligent observations and diligence to educating folks out there on important issues such as this. I truly appreciated your talking points and insight. I just wanted to mention one other important talking point that some of your list members might also consider using.

Please mention that Judges who are setting on the bench reviewing these cases daily, as well as attorneys on both sides, all of which have far more education and awareness of these cases and are perfectly capable of ruling on these cases without being told how to do their job, and what sentences are mandatory. Mandatory sentencing is a slap in the face to the fine people who have years of education and experience in dealing on a daily basis with our judicial system and with the "individuals" involved.

Remember our legal system may not be perfect but it is the best in the world because we treat (or at least try to treat) everyone as an individual, cases are decided by the circumstances of that case not some arbitrary ruling from the legislature. The members of the judicial systems know first hand the repeat offenders (often street girls...but I don't wish to be biased) and can issue a punishment up to six months in jail if they feel it's justified...This bill does nothing to strengthen the existing law, and it weakens our judicial system and further clouds our system of checks & balances which separate the judicial and legislative branches.

It addition it's main purpose is to be a supposed "tough on crime" talking point during election season, while rewarding the financial interests who have turned prisons into a multi-billion dollar enterprises and have contributed to the the political campaigns of the bill's sponsors. Corporations should not profit at the expense of single mothers and families and neither should politicians.

My final point would be how much is the bill going to cost, not just in it's administration but also to lost tourism, golf, and convention business, naturally I am not implying that every tourist utilizes the services of prostitutes...but the first time one of these Doctors, Lawyers, Real Estate Developers, or Financial Strategists, who come here for a convention or golf and a little stress release..losses their job because they spend 15 days in jail...with no consideration of first time offenders, the option of stiff fines, community service or other punishment on a case by case basis... I can imagine how popular a destination we will be, and sorry but you can't convince me that the prudes of the world will make up the difference in lost revenue to our state.

This bill affects much more than what is on the surface, and regardless of anyone's opinion on prostitution or what consenting adults do behind closed doors, HB2307, is bad for everyone because it hurts our judicial system.

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AZ Prostitution Bill Now Up to Governor Napolitano

I doubt phone calls with these arguments will do any good but SWOP has put out a plea to help prostitutes in AZ. Of course no one seems to ever raise the point there is a HUGE difference between the public nuisance street hooker vs the consenting adult private provider, legal in almost all the world at least outcall except the U.S. But all the public thinks about is the street hooker and groups like SWOP are dong private sexwork harm by insisting on the rights of street hookers to legally be a public nuisance.

I have attached my FAX to Governor Napolitano. My views are very different from that of SWOP's promoting street hookers which is why their efforts and other prostitution group's have always failed. But we are at least on the same side regarding mandatory jail terms for first offense prostituion convictions for all in AZ. Phoenix already has a similar law. I suggest folks respond and also FAX the governor. There may not be time to have letters sent.

I am taking this opportunity to at least be bold and state my case in my FAX attached as a word document which I have already FAXED to Governor Napolitano. I am trying to do something not just remain silent. Just like I did speaking at public hearings and the City of Phoenix Council when they passed the new strip club law and made swing clubs illegal in Phoenix. None of us were able to stop the power of the Christian right behind these laws even with virtually no support other than from the Christian group at all the public hearings and final City Council meeting in 1998.

Here is SWOPS Maling although I'm not sure canned letters sent to the Governor have much sway:
From Robyn Few <swopusa@yahoo.com>

I just got off the phone with the Gov's office. They were very nice and said if we wanted the Gov to veto this bill we had to call, write and email. Every damn one of us.
Please support SWOP AZ and do it now.

Urgent!!! Action needed in AZ! Please help!!!

HB 2307 says a first offense means a mandatory 15 days in jail, with 30 days for a second conviction, 60 days for a third and 180 days for anything beyond that. It also says people are not eligible for early release.

HB2307 has been passed by legislators in AZ and it’s now at the desk of Gov. Napolitano. Please call AND fax Governor Napolitano and ask her to veto HB 2307!

Telephone(602) 542-4331
Toll Free 1-(800) 253-0883 (within AZ only)
Fax (602) 542-1381

Talking points:

HB2307 Is bad for Arizona families. HB2307 will separate single mothers from their chidren, furthering the hardship that families in Arizona already face.

HB2307 is bad for women in AZ. HB2307 does not address the core issues of housing, education, employment an meeting the basic needs of women in AZ. Rather, it punishes women who already struggle to survive.

HB2307 will NOT end prostitution in AZ. Prostitution will exist as long as education and employment opportunities are not available to women in need. Punishing women is not a solution, it will create undue burden on the state, fill up jails and prisons, and destroy Arizona families.

More info about HB2307
http://azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=hb2307

If you’d like to fax the governor, please cut and paste this sample text into a word doc, or write your own:

To: Governor Napolitano
Fax (602) 542-1381
Re: HB 2307

Dear Gov. Napolitano,

I’m writing to ask that you veto HB2307, a bill that creates harsher penalties for prostitution convictions.

HB2307 is bad for Arizona families. HB2307 will separate single mothers from their children, furthering the hardship that families in Arizona already face.

HB2307 is bad for women in AZ. HB2307 does not address the core issues of housing, education, employment an meeting the basic needs of women in AZ. Rather, it punishes women who already struggle to survive.

Harsh penalties for prostitution make it difficult for women who are victims of violence to seek police help. According to a 2001 study done by the UCSF Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, San Francisco Department of Public Health and St James Infirmary, 53% of women in prostitution experience violence, yet only 3% report violence to police. Furthermore, out of that 53%, 15% of the violence was perpetrated by police.

HB2307 will NOT end prostitution in AZ. Prostitution will exist as long as education and employment opportunities are not available to women in need. Punishing women is not a solution, it will create undue burden on the state, fill up jails and prisons, and destroy Arizona families.

According to a report in the Hastings Law Journal, "...average arrest, court and incarceration costs amount to nearly $ 2,000.00 per arrest. Cities spend an average of 7.5 million dollars on prostitution control every year..." (Hastings Law Journal, April 1987. pp 769-800)

This is not the most effective use of the state’s funds for addressing prostitution-related issues. Arizona would benefit from getting input from women’s rights groups, organizations that advocate for the rights of women of color and poor women, organizations that do outreach work for prostitutes and other stakeholders in these policies.

I urge you to veto HB2307 and seek out real solutions for addressing issues of prostitution in Arizona. For more information and resources, please visit:
http://www.swop-az.org
http://bayswan.org/stats.html
http://bestpracticespolicy.org/

Sincereley,
Robyn Few
Sex Workers Outreach Project USA
333 Valencia St. Ste. 445
San Francisco, CA 94103
1-877-776-2004
www.swop-usa.org
robyn@swop-usa.org

Again Dave's very different FAX is attached (below)
LIBERATED CHRISTIANS, Inc
PO Box 55045 Phoenix, AZ 85078-5045
dave@davephx.com  http://www.libchrist.com
Promoting Positive Christian Intimacy & Sexuality
To: Governor Napolitano
Fax (602) 542-1381
Re: VETO HB 2307
Dear Gov. Napolitano,
 
I'm writing to ask that you veto HB2307, and have an honest study and recognition that there is a HUGE difference between the public nuisance street hooker and the private consenting adult prostitute that is legal in virtually all the world, except the U.S. The private sexworker in my experience providers a great service to a culture with none of the negative effects of street hookers.  Yet there is no recognition of this difference in the morality laws, including HB2307 pushed by the religious zealots.
 
In biblical times there was nothing whatsoever wrong with "common" prostitutes often mentioned in the bible with no negative inference.  In the Bible it was the idolatrous worship of the pagan goddess, such as the fertility Gods by the prostitutes in the Corinthian temples which was what Paul so strongly preached against.  But the conservative Christian movement wants to stamp out all consenting adult sexual options based on biblical ignorance and their own agendas to control people and make morality laws that are unconstitutional.
 
The Supreme Court agreed with the right of privacy and the fact that laws can not be based on "morality" in the Texas vs. Lawrence case.
 
I have written extensive on biblical issues and am co-founder of Liberated Christians, www.libchrist.com   I also have extensive personal experience with consenting adult sexwork especially in Canada.  I have various websites sexworkcanada.com, sexworktoronto.com and sexwork.com.   Because of the legal issues I do not do anything that violates the repressive laws in AZ, but mostly enjoy Canada where like most of the rest of the world, private consenting adult sexwork (the  term for private prostitution) has always been legal (at least outcall) with no health or negative issues. I have no personal financial interest in any prostitution activities.
 
It is time to stop those with a narrow religious view from dictating what they thing consenting adults should do in private.  
 
Private consenting adult sexwork should not be a crime.  Much less have mandatory jail time. These laws benefit no one in our culture and enforcement against private sexwork is a huge waste of public resources when there is no victim other than the religious zealots that want to impose their views on citizens.
 
I agree street prostitution needs to be addressed but for its public nuisance or often drug and pimping related issues not because of prostitution.  There are no legitimate negative issues around private consenting adult prostitution - most of the world realizes that.
 
Sincerely
Dave xxxxxxx
www.lovetouch.info
www.libchrist.com   
www.sexwork.com  
Co-founder Liberated Christians
Promoting Positive Consenting Adult Sexuality
Fax 602-955-xxxx
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Hi Everyone
The outreach program has been in place for 4 years now and I know the ladies here it was started in San Francisco by Robin Few who after being taken to the cleaners and life destroyed by the Feds has devoted her life now to bringing the decimalization of prostitution out in the open .They have many reputable women's groups backing and they do a lot of speaking tours to groups .Everyone always ask what can we do well this is a start to help out community and our trade . The Outreach Group is spreading to other states they now have chapters in about 5 states and growing Az Chapter needs our help!!!
Rose
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I (Dave) also sent to Woodhull Foundation which  I wrote a lot about with the swing club issues a few years ago.  Their reply:
 
Thanks, Dave. Would you mind if I share your post with selected individuals
who work on these issues?

Ricci Joy Levy, Executive Director
The Woodhull Freedom Foundation
1325 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
P: 202.628.3333
F: 202.628.3330
www.woodhullfoundation.org
 
Of course I replied by all means would welcome them getting involved with private sexwork issues!
 
Ricci replied:
The decriminalization of sex work is a definite commitment for WFF. We very much appreciate your continued support. Please feel free to contact me directly if there are any issues about which you think we should be aware.
Ricci
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Sample Comments From Alert E-Mailing
Thanks again for your continuing leadership in promoting a healthy, safe, happy and progressive society rather than a sexually repressive, deviant and violent society that the religious right is trying to create.
Wolf
------
It is about time that somebody do something about those stupid laws.
Keep up the good work.
Rene
------
Dear Governor Napolitano,
Please veto HB 2307 that enacts harsher penalties for someone who works
in or solicits prostitution. It is the prostitution laws that are creating
the situation many cities are seeing with regards to sex for sale.
I call upon you to instead back the decriminalization of prostitution.
Consenting adults should not be penalized for having sex in their own
personal lives and the state's tax dollars should be spent arresting and
prosecuting murderers, robbers and rapists. Not scrutinizing the private lives of
consenting adults.
HB 2307 is a waste of time and money. Please reject this idiotic piece of
legislation.
Regards,
Michael Renzulli
Dave notes Mike is active with the Libertarian party and met in the days of the swing club fights with Phoenix which sadly Phoenix won.
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AP News Article


Governor gets bill on jail time for prostitutes, customers>/h2>
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
PHOENIX (AP) - The sponsor of a bill to require jail time for prostitutes and their customers says its intended to provide a statewide solution to a situation where prostitutes go from one city to another to avoid local crackdowns. ‘‘We've blown all the prostitutes across one side, we've blown them back across the other side, but the problem of prostitution has never been fully addressed,'' said Sen. Chuck Gray, a Mesa Republican and a former police officer.

The Senate on Wednesday approved, by a nearly party-line 18-11 vote, Gray's bill (HB2307) to require 15 days in jail for a first offense, 30 days for a second offense, 60 days for a third offense and 180 days for any additional offenses. The bill now goes to the governor. Prostitution is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail but the bill would mandate jail time and make a fourth or subsequent offense a low-grade felony. The Senate previously had approved a version of the bill without the jail mandate but the mandate was restored by a House-Senate conference committee.

Gray said the jail mandate is intended to get prostitutes off the street and into rehabilitation programs, like one already in place in Phoenix, ‘‘to get them out of their destructive lifestyles.'' ‘‘There are some situations where those ladies have no other place to turn. When you turn them back on the street, the only people taking care of them are their drug dealers or pimps,'' he said.

Opponents criticized both the mandatory jail time and the felony provision, which one senator said would hamper rehabilitation efforts. Former prostitutes ‘‘will be non-employable with a felony on their record,'' said Sen. Paula Aboud, D-Tucson. Sen. Bill Brotherton, D-Phoenix, said the jail mandate doesn't make sense for women trapped in abusive situations or struggling with drug problems. ‘‘This goes the wrong direction with regards to these folks,'' Brotherton said. Gray said the felony provision is a recognition that some prostitutes won't give up the trade. ‘‘Those that are unwilling ... to go through the program or keep reoffending, those folks probably need to move to another state,'' Gray said. ‘‘The felony conviction is the hammer.'' Gray stressed that the measure applies equally to prostitutes and their customers.

‘‘We're not singling out the ladies. We're not singling out the men,'' he said. ‘‘If you arrest a john, he gets arrested for prostitution because the crime is exchanging money for sex. Whichever side of that transaction you're on, you get charged.''

The bill drew support from several law enforcement groups and opposition from groups providing social services.
 

Other news article comments - KVOA Tucson:


Residents say they want to clean up the streets. "Every day, I come home from work and I see them standing around. I'm serious. It's pretty bad," said one man who says he's now "used to" seeing prostitutes outside his Midtown home. Another concerned resident, Merlin Henderson, told News 4, "It would be nice if something could be done about it, I mean, we're certainly not going to be able to do it individually." Dave says yes about street prostitution far different than private consenting adult sexwork but its all bad per the religious right and those that don't care about the differences.