It could be a lot easier for residents in our nation’s capital to get stoned and then go pick up a prostitute if this city councilman in Washington, D.C., gets his way.
The city legalized possession of marijuana in February, and now Councilman David Grosso wants to decriminalize prostitution.
Grosso lauded a decision by Amnesty International to support the decriminalization of prostitution in a press release Wednesday.
“For decades we have repeated the same practice over and over, trying to arrest our way to an end of sex work, but it has never worked. Instead criminalization has caused severe harm to communities,” Grosso said in the statement.
Since last month, D.C. police started to crackdown on prostitution with online sting operations.
Police have arrested almost 150 people in less than a month on prostitution-related charges using sting operations set up with fake ads on Craigslist to lure would-be customers to hotel rooms.
Most of the arrests occur in the city’s downtown area.
Earlier this week, the human rights group Amnesty International voted to adopt a policy favorable to the rights of sex workers, according to a statement released by the organization.
The group will now call on states to ensure that sex workers have legal protection from exploitation, trafficking and violence.
“Sex workers are one of the most marginalized groups in the world who in most instances face constant risk of discrimination, violence and abuse. Our global movement paved the way for adopting a policy for the protection of the human rights of sex workers which will help shape Amnesty International’s future work on this important issue,” said Salil Shetty, secretary general of Amnesty International.
Grosso told FOX 5 DC he plans to propose new legislation that would decriminalize the act of paying for sex.
“When you have two consensual adults and they are exchanging sex for money, that is something that I think we shouldn’t be getting in the middle of,” Grosso told the TV station.
