Hobby News Roundup

Sorry… I’ve been slackin’. But there’s an upside — after two or three days of light posting, we have a backlog of tasty prostitution news.

U.S. 11th Circuit Court Presents: Theatre of the Absurd

It’s one thing for judicial types to become disconnected from daily life, it’s quite another when they become disconnected from logic and common sense. In a ruling handed down last week (warning: PDF file) concerning a challenge to an Alabama law prohibiting the sale of… ahem… marital aids, the 11th Circuit equated the sale of such items to prostitution.

Yep, that’s where they wound up, as the court was twisting through all manner of contortions (which tends to happen whenever the law delves into the bedroom) to explain the difference between Lawrence v. Texas (a case concerning consensual sodomy) and Haggermaker v. Alabama (the case being decided, regarding Alabama’s law against the sale of sexual aids). Here’s a excerpt from the court’s decision:

However, while the statute at issue in Lawrence criminalized private sexual conduct, the statute at issue in this case forbids public, commercial activity. To the extent Lawrence rejects public morality as a legitimate government interest, it invalidates only those laws that target conduct that is both private and noncommercial.
…
It does not involve persons who might be injured or coerced or who are situated in relationships where consent might not easily be refused. It does not involve public conduct or prostitution. Unlike Lawrence, the activity regulated here is neither private nor noncommercial.

Hmm, OK. So, prostitution is not — and can not ever be — a private matter, or one where ‘consent might not easily be refused’? Who knew? (hat tip: Boing Boing)

Across the pond, a step backwards

In the wake of the Ipswich killings, authorities are looking at starting a ‘john school‘. Evidently, the bobbies haven’t gotten the memo regarding the efficacy of such tactics. I can sympathize, however, given the political pressure that must be in force to do something — anything — even if it’s wrong. You see, in England, when somebody starts killing hookers, people actually care.

Still, prostitution is legal there when done behind closed doors. So, eliminating streetwalkers isn’t so much a matter of drying up demand (which is the goal of john schools). Perhaps the problem could be better framed as a matter of ensuring an adequate supply of affordable housing.

A page from Vice’s playbook

Spending habits sure do change when one is paying with someone else’s money. Or, for that matter, when they don’t plan to spend any money at all. WCAV in Charlottesville, VA brings us this rare glimpse into the anatomy of a vice bust. Notable: the officer agrees to cough up the full asking price, even after the hooker preemptively offers a better deal.

POLICE: What about the whole sex thing, straight up?
PROSTITUTE: At least 40.
POLICE: At least 40?
PROSTITUTE: I would like to have $50 but if you can do 40 that would be okay.
POLICE: I think we can swing $50
PROSTITUTE: That would be great.

Funny how this wound up on TV news, when one considers that, had the shoe been on the other foot, a person could be arrested for taping a conversation with an undercover cop and sharing the recording.