May 2, 2021 by Maggie McNeill
The legislation...grossly limits...sex workers from taking steps to protect their health and safety. - Justice Phillip Sutherland
Imaginary Evils (#929)Is there anything the government won't label "sex trafficking"?
Property of the State (#989)In 2004 [Nicole] Daedone founded a group called OneTaste, disseminating...the practice of what she called orgasmic meditation, or OM. At its peak, OneTaste was reported to be making $12 million a year; it had centres in nine cities, including New York, San Francisco and London, and was endorsed by no less a personage than...Gwyneth ["jade vagina egg"] Paltrow. But the organisation has now shut down following accusations by former members of the group, with the FBI reportedly investigating allegations of sex-trafficking, prostitution and violation of labour laws...
Pregnant women are uniquely vulnerable to state coercion:
Sex Rays (#1059)...each new wave of illegal drug panic and crackdowns...has spurred new excuses for monitoring pregnant women, overriding their consent, and applying strict laws against them. In Alabama, hundreds of pregnant women have been prosecuted for positive drug tests..." A woman can be charged with chemical endangerment from the earliest weeks of pregnancy"...and...face up to 10 years of prison time [if her baby is born perfectly healthy]...and up to 20 years if the child shows signs of exposure. High courts in...Alabama, Oklahoma, and South Carolina...have affirmed that it's OK to use general child abuse statutes in the criminal prosecution of pregnant women who test positive for any illegal drug...in...South Carolina...[hospital] staff called the cops on a woman whose child tested positive for [metabolites of THC]...In Louisiana...a woman was charged with child desertion and second-degree cruelty, punishable by up to 40 years imprisonment, for smoking pot while breastfeeding. In...Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin...drug use during pregnancy can lead to involuntary civil commitment. At least 23 states [pretend] any drug use during pregnancy is...child abuse...Even in states without this explicit policy, a single positive test can trigger... investigation by child protective services ...
I Spy (#1067)Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach mansion is being demolished in the hopes of [ritually] cleansing the area of [evil spirits]. The waterfront property was purchased...for...$US18 million [by real estate]...developer Todd Michael Glaser...the gated estate is modest for the area, which is largely made up of extravagant holiday homes...occupied only during the summer months, leaving the area eerily quiet during the off-season...
At least a few politicians' moral compasses aren't entirely defective:
Morality Lessons (#1112)A bipartisan group of [politicians] has introduced a bill to stop federal law enforcement from sidestepping citizens' privacy rights by secretly purchasing our personal data from third-party brokers. In 2018 the Supreme Court ruled in Carpenter v. United States that the FBI violated a suspect's Fourth Amendment rights by tracking his cellphone without getting a warrant first...[so] federal agencies began...just buy[ing] the information from brokers...And so a group...including Sens. Rand Paul...Ron Wyden...Patrick Leahy...and Mike Lee...has introduced...a...bill [which would]...require fed[s]...to...get a court order [to buy the data] just as they have to do now if they want to force a phone service provider to cough up your information. It prohibits the use of this data as evidence [unless the spooks simply lie and pretend they obtained the data using a legal method, in a dodge called "parallel construction"]...
This unconstitutional bill failed in over a dozen states before passing in Utah:
Winding Down (#1118)The Alabama House Judiciary Committee held a hearing...on a "copycat bill" of the legislation...passed in Utah [which] aim[s] to force phone and computer manufacturers to install default "porn filters" on devices sold in Alabama. The bill...[i]s part of a current effort...by [pro-censorship group]...Morality in Media...and other religiously motivated...organizations - to pass state-by-state laws making this requirement...
Washington state politicians demonstrate their hypocrisy:
Whither Canada? (#1126)...in February the Washington State Supreme Court... struck down the state's felony drug possession law ...decriminaliz[ing] drugs statewide and suddenly render[ing] tens of thousands of prisoners eligible for reduced sentences. The Legislature could have seen this ruling...as an opportunity [to end the drug war in]...Washington...But...the provincial, fearful mommies and daddies who run Olympia have made...plans to restart the war on mostly Black drug users. The only question is how much destruction they want to cause, and for how long...
Slowly chipping away at a terrible law:
An Ontario Superior Court judge has declared unconstitutional legal provisions that ban sex workers from being able to work safely, including by being able to advertise...hire security, work together and communicate with clients...Justice Phillip Sutherland ruled...that the law breaches the right of sex workers to life, liberty and security of the person...Jenn Clamen, national co-ordinator for the [Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform]...stressed [that] the ruling is just a partial victory [as] it does not address...provisions...banning the purchase of sex and communication for th[at] purpose...this is the second time in Ontario that a judge has partially struck down the [prohibitionist law which imposed] the Nordic model [on Canada. Crown attorneys whined]...that [it]...would be more difficult [to destroy people's lives for consensual adult sex]...