Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Feds don't get it on "street walking"

The feds are complaining that there will be "chaos" if a judge's order striking down key parts of the prostitution laws has its stayed lifted next week, as widely expected, and that Ontario will become a "haven" for criminal elements while there will be uncertainty over the law elsewhere.

Message to feds:   The criminal element is already there.   The women who fought to strike down the laws in question did so, so that the criminal element could be more effectively dealt with while making the sex trade safe(r) for those who walk the streets.

It seems to me that the government hasn't even listened or even read the briefs of the women who challenged the law.    If they did, they would realize the women's case is structurally and legally sound.   (It was quite a long time ago when a young woman challenged the law banning frontal nudity and I had a hard time accepting the idea, until I read an op-ed written by the woman herself -- Gwen Jacob -- I and realized she had a point.)

So Harper:  Go after organized crime for once -- not the prostitutes.   If your government claims to be tough on crime, then it's time to prove it.

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