San Francisco divided over measure to legalize prostitution
The Golden Gate Bridge, the Haight-Ashbury district, Alcatraz Island.... and now, as if you needed another reason to visit San Francisco, legalized prostitution!
Well, maybe.
A November 4th ballot initiative called Proposition K will allow San Franciscans to decide whether to decriminalize the world's oldest profession. The initiative was introduced by groups of sex workers and health officials, as well as the Democratic County Central Committee, all of whom worked together to gather 12,000 signatures to allow the measure to be put to a vote.
But even in the famously liberal San Francisco, not everyone is behind the measure. Mayor Gavin Newsom, District Attorney Kamala Harris, and a large portion of the business community are opposed to the initiative, worried that legalized prostitution will bring more criminal elements to the city.
So how 'bout it, readers? Are you with the mayor or the sex workers? (I know who I'm with!)
More here.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
Sep 19th 2008 @ 8:05PM
sandra weisz said...
no no no. san fran is already ruined. overcrowded overpriced mean, and now you want to turn it into a gigantic whorehouse. you'll ruin it worse. wherever there is a lot of prostitution legal or not it's a destroyed place. i.e. los angeles, san fernanado valley, ie reno nevada, just to name a few places.
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Sep 19th 2008 @ 9:55PM
princess poon said...
Sweetie, you're a little misinformed. The only place on your list where prostitution is legal is in Reno. I don't remember Reno being on America's Most Wanted.
In Amsterdam, the Red Light District is not only a place of legalized prostitution, but a tourist attraction as well. It's safe, clean, and even regulated by the city.
Sep 19th 2008 @ 10:59PM
sandra weisz said...
i said where ever there is prostitutiton Legal. or not legal it's a destroyed city. los angeles and reno are in fact destroyed. and the girls workig in amsterdam are miserable
Sep 19th 2008 @ 11:27PM
Jerry Bassett said...
Sorry Sandra, but san francisco has been an unflushed sewer since at least the 1960's. Why change it now?
Sep 20th 2008 @ 12:32AM
king dee said...
los angeles ruined??? u truly have down syndrome!!! l.a is a beautiful city you are just to ''wyoming'' to realize it...either that or u been driven off the road here in cali cuz of your crappy driving! if you think l.a is ruined then wherever u live must be shite! l.a is melting pot of many different cultures which makes it so unique. San Fran is also that way. Your argument has no basis and is truly your ''bias'' opinion.
Sep 21st 2008 @ 5:55PM
STEVEN said...
Princess Poon said the prostituion is legal in Reno. I live in Reno; it is NOT legal here by any means.
Please get your facts straight!
Sep 20th 2008 @ 4:15AM
Karyn Ann Bosso said...
San Francisco is NOT ruined. I live here - I grew up here, I went to school here. Yes, it IS expensive and crowded and crazy and sometimes weird - and it is also liberal, cosmopolitan, cultured, interesting, beautiful and worth saving, and is definitely NOT a city to be easily written off as "ruined" - I'm sorry that you feel the way you do about this beautiful City by the Bay that is my hometown.
Oh, and, by the way, please get your facts straight. Prostitution is NOT legal in Reno, Nevada. (I lived there at one time, too!) Reno is in Washoe County - prostitution is illegal in Washoe County, but it IS legal right outside the county line, where one can find several LEGAL brothels that are clean and regulated.
If you are going to make a comment, please check your facts!!!
Sep 20th 2008 @ 4:48AM
sandra weisz said...
king dee, your'e the diot>3 i am a native of los angeles. and yes the part i live in is shit not shitake like the mushroom, you never won any spelling bees. i would love to go to wyoming where there are wide open spaces. los angeles is dirtym mean and full of stupid ppl. i went to berkeley and it was ok then, in the 70's and 80's and i also saw s.f. in the 90's the last time but the very last time what i saw a few weeks ago was a mean nasty crowded albeit more intelligent,los angeles. where it's so crowded and horrible it spoiled it for me. i didn't even want to see what happened to berkeley. i was on my way to eugene ore. and sadly that city turned bad too. overcrowded, over developed but it was still green and ppl were very nice, even though they were dumb. upstate new york here i come.i am the expert on los angeles and what happened to it. and i am aware of prostitutiion being illegal in reno, but it goes on anyway, as it does all over los angeles, esp. the horrible san fernando valley. all the illegals came and destroyed southern ca. that's why the decent ppl are leaving. you stay in this ugly filth. i've been hit by drunk drivers, that have no license, and there is crime and corruption unparrelled here. other part of the u.s wouldn't put up w/this crap. you must be part of the problem.Hurry earthquake!
Sep 21st 2008 @ 12:27PM
Brenda SFO said...
Judging by the way you write, and as difficult as it is to get into Cal Berkeley, I find it unbelievable that you ever went to Cal Berkeley.
Perhaps people in LA and San Francisco were mean to you because of your nasty attitude.
I agree with Karyn. I live here as well, and it is not ruined. I think it's one of the most cosmopolitan, vibrant cities in the world, certainly in the US!
Sep 21st 2008 @ 8:27PM
sandra weisz said...
brendo sfo is a stupid, bitch whore obviously. judging by the way she writes. i find it unbelieveable that your'e not a skank from hell. not only did i go to Bereklely, i went there at age 16, full scholarship. you are so stupid to judge others without any knowledge whatsoever. i was very nice to ppl in s.f. recently. i got lost and was asking for directions the ppl turned into los angeles ppl, unfortunetely.
Sep 21st 2008 @ 8:21PM
sandra weisz said...
you who love your destroyed city. quit harrassing me with your stupid comments. it is a known fact that as one reader said ,san fran is an unflushed toiled. i believe that it's a recent phenomena. when you squeeze that many ppl into a small space that's what you get. stay with your filth. unfortunetely, it turned into los angeles. and that's a real shame .it used to be so beautiful, and so cool.
Sep 19th 2008 @ 8:15PM
Dude said...
13 years of prohibition didn't teach America anything. People are going to do what they want to do and when the only people participating are volunteering to participate you will never stop it. If you buy a woman a nice meal and take her to a show spending $100 and she has sex with you, that's "dating." If you just hand her the $100 dollars, that's "criminal." And if a high-priced madam gets caught we never find out who was on her "Johns" list because they're rich and powerful. The hypocracy of America will be her downfall and we will not exist as a country in 50 years.
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Sep 19th 2008 @ 8:36PM
doug said...
good, to the point and true
Sep 19th 2008 @ 9:08PM
david said...
very well said
Sep 19th 2008 @ 10:36PM
buck said...
Actually prostitution is not legal in Reno. it is legal in some counties in Nevada, but not legal in Washoe County (where Reno is located), nor is it legal in Clark County (Las Vegas).
Sep 19th 2008 @ 10:44PM
southern84style said...
Actually, the downfall of america will be the misinformation campaign set in place to keep people separated and divided in beliefs and practices(prevention of "People shouldn't fear the Govt, the Govt. should fear the people".) One could speculate the planned surgical removal of God and truth is one reason the country went downhill in the last 20 years.. but hey, who am I but a person with an opinion. America these days is based on deceit, smoke and mirrors and the only ones who can really see it are those who have not subscribed to and been sold out to relativistic thinking and a mindset of requiring evidence and proof to believe.
Sep 20th 2008 @ 12:53AM
phil said...
great piece. country is bankrupt and the oligarchs have us worried about BJ's.
Sep 19th 2008 @ 8:16PM
Kiki Mo said...
I won't be surprised if Mr Bill Cliton will move to San Francisco.
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Sep 19th 2008 @ 8:20PM
jawn said...
We already have legalized prostitution, it's called politics!
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Sep 19th 2008 @ 8:21PM
duh said...
Yeah why make it legal when the only ones so far are getting arrested and beat up and murdered are the hookers.Grow up its been with us since there was people.
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