Lawsuit seeks to legalize prostitution in California

[Mister T 45020]

[url]http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2015/04/14/exclusive-prostitution-lawsuit-california-legalize.html?ana=twt[/url]

[QUOTE]Steve Watkins
Staff Reporter-
Cincinnati Business Courier

Two lawyers have filed a high-profile case that seeks to legalize prostitution in California.

Lou Sirkin and Brian Oâ??Connor of Cincinnati-based Santen & Hughes, filed the case last month in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on behalf of an organization representing prostitutes known as the Erotic Service Provider Legal, Education & Research Project. It named three current or former prostitutes and a man with a disability who wants to be able to legally hire prostitutes as other plaintiffs in the case.

Their argument centers on peopleâ??s right to do what they want as long as itâ??s legal. "Itâ??s legal to have sex, so why should it be illegal to pay for it?" the argument goes. Oâ??Connor compared it to having the freedom of the press but making it illegal to sell newspapers.

â??Itâ??s really a constitutional issue, we think,â? Sirkin said. â??Weâ??re talking only about consenting adults here. Our whole theory is that any law based on morality has no place in this country. Morals are different for different people. Legislation should not be determined by morality.

â??Because you exchange a dollar rather than dinner, why should it be made illegal?â?

Sirkin compared the argument with the nationâ??s past opposition to legalized gambling. Casinos used to be legal only in Nevada and New Jersey, and now theyâ??re in plenty of states.

How did two guys from Cincinnati wind up filing a case in California to legalize prostitution? Itâ??s mainly because of Sirkinâ??s experience. Heâ??s been involved in several high-profile cases involving individual liberty issues around the country.

Those included a Texas case to overturn a law that made sex toys illegal and an obscenity case in Pittsburgh to allow the sale of movies over the Internet.

â??Iâ??ve kind of been a front-runner on this issue,â? Sirkin said.

The group in San Francisco contacted him a few years ago about handling the case. While the group raised money through crowdfunding, Sirkin waited for some rulings on similar cases in Canada where prostitution is legal.

â??The timing is right on this one,â? Sirkin said. â??We think we can win and sustain it. Itâ??s an important issue of individual freedom in a country that prides itself on individual freedom. People might think weâ??re crazy, but this would protect a lot of people.â?

Sirkin hopes to get a ruling by late summer, but he expects the case to be taken to higher courts after that.[/QUOTE]