As I reported on January 13th, a bill to decriminalize prostitution has been introduced in the New Hampshire legislature. The initial media coverage treated it as little more than a joke, a quixotic effort by a freshman representative which majority leader Dick Hinch (don’t giggle) vowed to kill as quickly as possible because “society is just not ready for that”. Given that New Zealand and New South Wales both qualify as parts of human (and even English-speaking!) society, I must presume that Hinch is as much an ignoramus as he is a Dick. Other (unnamed) prohibitionists vomited out the “diseased whore” myth, the “whore as criminal” myth and the “whore as siren to weak-willed male perverts” myth, while Dick vowed to play basketball with the bill and then lock it up in the basement.
But unfortunately for those now cursing the name of Amnesty International and praying for all us loudmouthed whores to choke on a cock or something, the bill was neither a joke nor a one-woman show nor easily swept under the rug:
New Hampshire legislators last week debated the merits of decriminalizing prostitution, in response to a bipartisan bill filed by state Reps. Amanda Bouldin (D-Hillsborough), Carole McGuire (R-Merrimack), and Elizabeth Edwards (D-Hillsborough). On Thursday, January 28, the New Hampshire Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee held a hearing on House Bill 1614, which removes all criminal penalties for “consensual sex between consenting adults” whether money is exchanged or not while making “any solicitation of sexual contact involving a person under 18 years of age or through the use of force or intimidation a felony.”
Edwards is apparently the main author of the bill, and she dropped a lot of big names in her introductory remarks:
“We put forward this bill in response to Amnesty International’s August 2015 recommendation that governments across the world decriminalize prostitution…Amnesty International studied the issue for two years prior to the their recommendation,” and their view is in line with the World Health Organization, the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women, Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Foundations, Anti-Slavery International, and other global human-rights groups…
Before long The USPROStitutes Collective asked as many sex workers and allies as possible to support the bill:
We are in touch with one of the sponsors of the Bill. Please consider writing in or calling them to make your case in support of decriminalization. Points to make in your letter may include that decriminalization would:
- Increase safety as sex workers could work together and more easily report violence;
- Enhance health as sex workers could more easily access services and wouldn’t be deterred from carrying condoms for fear that they will be used as evidence of prostitution;
- Free up police time to focus on the investigation of violent crimes such as rape and domestic violence rather than the policing of consenting sex (particularly important as the Committee is primarily made up of former and current law enforcement);
- End criminal records which bar sex workers from getting other jobs. This is crucial for anyone who may want to leave the sex industry and is unable to…
…Please see below the list and emails of committee members to send your letters to or call…
[email protected]
Arthur Barnes (r) [email protected], 603-893-4754
Roger Benrube (d) [email protected], 603-692-5653
John Burt (r) [email protected], 603-624-5084
Ed Corneau (r) [email protected], 603-522-2275
Robert Cushing (d) [email protected], 603-926-2737
Len DiSesa (d) [email protected], 603-343-4344
Robert Fesh (r) [email protected], 603-434-1150
Robert Fisher (r) [email protected], 802-727-0441
Dennis Green (r) [email protected], 603-234-7776
Geoffrey Hirsch (d) [email protected], 603-938-2833
Latha Manjipudi (d) [email protected], 603-891-1239
Dick Marston (r) [email protected], 603-361-8192
John Martin (r) [email protected], 603-774-3098
Andrew OHearne (d) [email protected], 603-558-1038
Laura Pantelakos (d) [email protected], 603-436-2148
Harold Parker (r) [email protected], 603-491-6807
Timothy Robertson (d) [email protected], 603-352-7006
Shawn Sweeney (r) [email protected], 603-265-0319
Bella Robinson of COYOTE-RI also testified before the committee hearings, and Maxine Doogan of ESPLERP also took time out from her work on the decriminalization court case in California to speak in its favor:
Naturally, there was no shortage of pompous windbags making inane non-arguments against human rights, in the name of The Women and (wait for it…) THE CHILDREN!!!!!!!
…Rep. John Martin (R-Merrimack) worried that high-school football players would move from “having a keg party after a victory to having a hooker party after a victory.” Rep. Edwards responded by pointing out that sex between adults and minors would still be illegal, no matter the gender of the minors. Rep. Dick Marston (R-Hillsborough) opposes the bill and is surprised by its introduction from female legislators, demanding they answer for the fact that some married men might cheat with sex workers…
Apparently, given that this other Dick isn’t (to my knowledge) sponsoring a bill criminalizing marital infidelity, he isn’t concerned if married men cheat with amateurs; he just doesn’t want those hussies to profit by their naughtiness. But lest you think he merely wants to save himself and other philanderers some cash, Dick assures us that he’s firmly in touch with his feminine side: “I just have a problem with this bill from a woman’s point of view.” That’s this entire issue in miniature right there: Men (and anti-sex women) ignoring, dismissing, criminalizing and infantilizing women while pretending to understand our point of view and presuming to speak for us is the essence of prohibition in a nutshell.
