Prostitution decriminalisation “way overdue” – Mild Greens

It is untenable for the law to maintain that ‘sex work’ is criminal, say the Mild Greens, “much as it is disreputable for the law to maintain that the everyday activity of smoking a joint is a crime”. Prostitution involving consensual adults is nobody else’s business (except maybe the IRD) say the Mild Greens.

Parliament considered last evenings crucial conscience votes on the decriminalisation of prostitution and passed Tim Barnett’s Prostitution reform bill second reading 62:56, in what may be seen as a minor, if narrow, victory against stupid, inequitable laws.

Mild Greens say a law change repealing the offence of soliciting is way overdue.

“Laws should mean what they say, and do what they say. Either lock up all the ‘criminal’ streetwalkers and confiscate the brothels and proceeds of ‘crime’- and ban the classified listing of ‘escorts’ - or have a law that reflects actual tolerant social values and genuine free-trade principles”.

And either ship New Zealand’s half million ‘criminal’ marijuana users off to concentration camps, or recognise the black market restriction/offender definition is seriously flawed… legalise, and APOLOGISE.

It is not prudent or precautionary to have virtually the entire population ‘criminals’ by definition or by association, thanks to certain inappropriate controls.

If a moral minority finds activities such as prostitution or drug use ‘morally unacceptable’, then these people still have to realise that it is a far greater trespass to impose subjective morality at the expense of individual freedom. Legislating private morality denies the God-given conscience of the individual.

“It is our right to choose, and to have the best life possible in that choice.”

And the Mild Greens point out (as no M.P. will), that there are far more cannabis users (mainly male) than sex-workers (mainly female) in NZ: “a much bigger criminalisation problem, and a therefore a far greater social inequity requiring resolution”.

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