great news on the human trafficking front

[DrunkenViking]

Cindy McCain, wife of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and an outspoken critic of human trafficking, said she had heard that federal law enforcement officials had raided not only Lacey’s home, but every Backpage office worldwide.

“They’ve confiscated everything and shut the website down,” she said.

Senators: Alter Internet laws to hold Backpage liable for sex trafficking
► February 2017: Phoenix domestic-violence shelter files suit against Backpage

Words like “quickie” and “afternoon delight” were allowed, according to the e-mails. Other terms, including “amber alert” and “cheerleader,” were deemed indicative of minors being offered for sex and banned from the site, the e-mails said.

The business was lucrative. The adult ads were among the few Backpage charged users to post. Backpage earned $135 million in 2014, according to a U.S. Senate report.

A February 2015 appraisal said the company was worth more than $600 million.

► January 2017: Backpage execs refuse to answer panel probing sex trafficking
► January 2017: Backpage shuts adult services section following Senate report

A federal grand jury had been presented with evidence against Backpage since at least February 2017, according to court filings in a civil suit filed against Backpage.

In March 2017, each man filed paperwork that removed their names from homes they had owned.

Larkin made the Paradise Valley home he owned with his wife a gift to her as her "sole and separate property," according to the documents. Lacey conveyed his Sedona home to a limited liability company called Creek Hideaway.

 

[AC_Exotic]

Doing God's work.

Human trafficking in the US is a blight upon the country as dark as the sin of abortion.

 

[CSCOTTOSUPOKES]

Doing God's work.

Human trafficking in the US is a blight upon the country as dark as the sin of abortion.

All abortions?

 

[DrunkenViking]

Doing God's work.

Human trafficking in the US is a blight upon the country as dark as the sin of abortion.

They don’t understand how much of it runs through our porous border either

 

[DrunkenViking]

All abortions?

Does it have a heart beat?

 

[Ostatedchi]

Shutting down human trafficking is great. On the flip side, prostitution should be legal. In their efforts to stop the trafficking, they've driven a lot of women into potentially much more dangerous situations.

 

[hollywood]

Shutting down human trafficking is great. On the flip side, prostitution should be legal. In their efforts to stop the trafficking, they've driven a lot of women into potentially much more dangerous situations.

Absolutely, from every study I've ever read, about 95% of the problems in prostitution comes back to the pimps and exploiters, not the actual act itself. By driving it underground, it has actually increased the control over the industry by organized crime and individual criminals.

Of course anyone with a heart and brain does not want to see young girls, or women of any age really, being exploited and forced into a life of prostitution. But to continue to criminalize it, much like the effort to treat drug addiction as a criminal justice issue, is backfiring and actually making the situation much worse in the long run.

 

[Ostatedchi]

Absolutely, from every study I've ever read, about 95% of the problems in prostitution comes back to the pimps and exploiters, not the actual act itself. By driving it underground, it has actually increased the control over the industry by organized crime and individual criminals.

Of course anyone with a heart and brain does not want to see young girls, or women of any age really, being exploited and forced into a life of prostitution. But to continue to criminalize it, much like the effort to treat drug addiction as a criminal justice issue, is backfiring and actually making the situation much worse in the long run.

Yep. You really want to shut down human trafficking? Legalize prostitution.

 

[Medic007]

Yep. You really want to shut down human trafficking? Legalize prostitution.

That would help some, but since prostitution won't be legal for 12, 13, 14 etc year olds, there's still going to be a large volume of human trafficking.

 

[Ostatedchi]

That would help some, but since prostitution won't be legal for 12, 13, 14 etc year olds, there's still going to be a large volume of human trafficking.

Drive the practice into the light and it'll be easier to catch the ones still lurking in the dark.

 

[Medic007]

Drive the practice into the light and it'll be easier to catch the ones still lurking in the dark.

Love your optimism, I just don't share it.

 

[brtinla]

Terrible bill. Sex workers depend on the internet to get away from pimps and have some ability to identify the dangerous Johns. This is an awful development.

 

[HighStickHarry]

Terrible bill. Sex workers depend on the internet to get away from pimps and have some ability to identify the dangerous Johns. This is an awful development.

 

[Pancreek1]

I have heard from a reliable source that, due to the crossroads of I-40, I-35 and I-44, that OKC is one of the biggest hotbeds of trafficking. Haven't confirmed it, but it makes sense. Sickening.

 

[CowboyJD]

I have heard from a reliable source that, due to the crossroads of I-40, I-35 and I-44, that OKC is one of the biggest hotbeds of trafficking. Haven't confirmed it, but it makes sense. Sickening.

I’ll confirm it.

It’s the crossroad of just about every trafficking organization that exists in America...including the human and illegal drug trade

 

[DrunkenViking]

Terrible bill. Sex workers depend on the internet to get away from pimps and have some ability to identify the dangerous Johns. This is an awful development.

You do realize backpage was being used to advertise minors for sex right?

 

[Ostatedchi]

You do realize backpage was being used to advertise minors for sex right?

Of course. But like in most things, we punish everyone as opposed to only targeting the ones actually doing the thing we want to stop.

I liken shutting down backpage to stop human trafficking to banning all AR style firearms to stop school shootings.

 

[anon_xl72qcu5isp39]

That's not about fighting human trafficking -- it's about stopping illicit sex to satisfy a religious agenda. Having human traffickers openly advertising right in front of law enforcement is a law enforcement dream. Oh no -- instead of enabling law enforcement to simply go to a publicly available website to find human trafficking, let's make it harder to discover.

You stop human trafficking by regulating prostitution. It's much like the war on drugs that conservatism has so staunchly supported for two generations: it requires law enforcement resources, creates criminal empires, and only makes the problem worse.

It's amazing how people will scream government has to get out of the way, and then drop full government authoritarianism once THEY have an agenda.

 

[Medic007]

That's not about fighting human trafficking -- it's about stopping illicit sex to satisfy a religious agenda. Having human traffickers openly advertising right in front of law enforcement is a law enforcement dream. Oh no -- instead of enabling law enforcement to simply go to a publicly available website to find human trafficking, let's make it harder to discover.

You stop human trafficking by regulating prostitution. It's much like the war on drugs that conservatism has so staunchly supported for two generations: it requires law enforcement resources, creates criminal empires, and only makes the problem worse.

It's amazing how people will scream government has to get out of the way, and then drop full government authoritarianism once THEY have an agenda.

Completely agree. Prostitution being illegal is literally one of the dumbest laws in the country. Why can't humans sell their bodies as a service? Is that really any different than using my hands and knowledge to fix a washing machine? Or cook food for a living? Or bill by the hour as a lawyer? Nope.

Legalize it and it takes the majority of the shady shit out of the equation. We don't hear about ladies that work in brothels in Nevada being raped, killed, beat up by pimps, etc.

 

[DrunkenViking]

That's not about fighting human trafficking -- it's about stopping illicit sex to satisfy a religious agenda.

You’re an idiot.

Trump DOJ has been hitting traffickers hard

 

[CBradSmith]

I’ll confirm it.

It’s the crossroad of just about every trafficking organization that exists in America...including the human and illegal drug trade

Wow

 

[anon_xl72qcu5isp39]

Trump DOJ has been hitting traffickers hard

I'll bet the issue is very important to Melania.

 

[hollywood]

That would help some, but since prostitution won't be legal for 12, 13, 14 etc year olds, there's still going to be a large volume of human trafficking.

But by continuing to have anti-prostitution laws that cause law enforcement to have to monitor and police even consenting adults, it does not allow them to focus on the underage and forced prostitution out there. When you look at some of the cases around the country, you will discover that many of the women who dare turn to LE for assistance in escaping, actually find themselves facing charges. This is of course, the opposite of what should be happening, if we would simply get off the "Puritan" Doctrine that makes prostitution illegal in the first place.

As JD pointed out, OKC is a hotbed of trafficking simply due to its geographic location as a major crossroad in the country.

But here's the deal, as been pointed out by the guy who runs the website JohnTV.com the police often just issue fines, or if they are arrested and charged, the pimps bail out the women they are trafficking then spirit them out of town. It seems that the targets of police intervention are almost always the women, because of how difficult it is to secure evidence against the Pimps.

Legalizing/Decriminalizing it would largely remove the need for pimps in the first place. Secondly, with the police not having to target the actual prostitutes, it would free up a ton of resources to go after the pimps who are actually running the show.

BTW, if you haven't seen some of the videos on that website, it's a real eye-opener, especially in regards to how young some of the girls being "turned-out" really are.

It may sound counter-intuitive, just like the drug laws, but legalizing it, licensing it and regulating it is almost certainly the only thing that will actually reduce prostitution.

 

[Medic007]

When you look at some of the cases around the country, you will discover that many of the women who dare turn to LE for assistance in escaping, actually find themselves facing charges.

I've never heard of that happening. Got any links to some examples?

Other than that, thanks for the post. I'm in complete agreement about decriminalizing prostitution as I posted above. If women want to sell sex as a service to willing customers, why is that against the law? It's no different than an electrician selling his services. Provide regulation to ensure safety like Nevada does.

I don't believe that legalization will help the most unfortunate victims of trafficking though. That often operates outside of the normal pimp and prostitute market.

 

[DrunkenViking]

I’m cool with legalizing prostitution for adults.

Get them out from under pumps to operate

 

[Ponca Dan]

That's not about fighting human trafficking -- it's about stopping illicit sex to satisfy a religious agenda. Having human traffickers openly advertising right in front of law enforcement is a law enforcement dream. Oh no -- instead of enabling law enforcement to simply go to a publicly available website to find human trafficking, let's make it harder to discover.

You stop human trafficking by regulating prostitution. It's much like the war on drugs that conservatism has so staunchly supported for two generations: it requires law enforcement resources, creates criminal empires, and only makes the problem worse.

It's amazing how people will scream government has to get out of the way, and then drop full government authoritarianism once THEY have an agenda.

100% correct. On the other hand this comment is an example of the pot calling the kettle black.!

 

[DrunkenViking]

That's not about fighting human trafficking -- it's about stopping illicit sex to satisfy a religious agenda. Having human traffickers openly advertising right in front of law enforcement is a law enforcement dream. Oh no -- instead of enabling law enforcement to simply go to a publicly available website to find human trafficking, let's make it harder to discover.

You stop human trafficking by regulating prostitution. It's much like the war on drugs that conservatism has so staunchly supported for two generations: it requires law enforcement resources, creates criminal empires, and only makes the problem worse.

It's amazing how people will scream government has to get out of the way, and then drop full government authoritarianism once THEY have an agenda.

I just want to point out it’s primarily your first paragraph I disagree with.

Why? Because you cannot for the life of you admit that his focus on human trafficking is a good thing.

Other than that, I agree. If women want to enter the oldest profession in history that’s their decision.

 

[HighStickHarry]

Put the money in a birthday card boom prostitution is legal.

 

[CSCOTTOSUPOKES]

I just want to point out it’s primarily your first paragraph I disagree with.

Why? Because you cannot for the life of you admit that his focus on human trafficking is a good thing.

Other than that, I agree. If women want to enter the oldest profession in history that’s their decision.

Having sex trafficking online leaves a paper trail to follow. The industry will simply go underground and more difficult, like he said, to enforce the law.

Trump Derangement Syndrome...believing every contrarian view is a pointed anti-Trump message.

 

[DrunkenViking]

Having sex trafficking online leaves a paper trail to follow. The industry will simply go underground and more difficult, like he said, to enforce the law.

Trump Derangement Syndrome...believing every contrarian view is a pointed anti-Trump message.

I’m referencing sex trafficking of minors. Not consenting adults. Backpage was allowing for the advertising of minors.

 

[07pilt]

Why do we call it human trafficking? Sounds like something made up by a pimp's PR firm. Call it what it is, sex slavery, and more often than not child sex slavery.

 

[hollywood]

Why do we call it human trafficking? Sounds like something made up by a pimp's PR firm. Call it what it is, sex slavery, and more often than not child sex slavery.

"Human Trafficking" is the broader term, with a subset of sex slavery.

In a logic "puzzle" it would be correct to say that ALL forced participation in sex slavery is Human Trafficking, but NOT ALL Human Trafficking involves sex slavery. It also involves a significant amount of people who are forced to perform jobs/labor as either their payment for being smuggled into a country, or as part of a larger scheme of forced labor akin/identical to slavery.

 

[07pilt]

"Human Trafficking" is the broader term, with a subset of sex slavery.

In a logic "puzzle" it would be correct to say that ALL forced participation in sex slavery is Human Trafficking, but NOT ALL Human Trafficking involves sex slavery. It also involves a significant amount of people who are forced to perform jobs/labor as either their payment for being smuggled into a country, or as part of a larger scheme of forced labor akin/identical to slavery.

Okay lets call it slavery then.

 

[Medic007]

Okay lets call it slavery then.

That's probably not culturally sensitive. Being called a slave owner might offend minority human taffickers.

 

[07pilt]

That's probably not culturally sensitive. Being called a slave owner might offend minority human taffickers.

Good point. Human trafficking will have to do.

 

[davidallen]

Put the money in a birthday card boom prostitution is legal.

I still can't believe you got off with that defense. Congrats man.

 

[anon_xl72qcu5isp39]

I still can't believe you got off with that defense. Congrats man.

If there's anybody that can wire around getting pinched for whoring....

 

[07pilt]

<HSH pulls his single cab pickup truck up to a desolate street corner, he addresses a lady who is loitering there>
HSH: "Hey, darling, you lookin' to celebrate your birthday tonight?"

 

[anon_xl72qcu5isp39]

<HSH pulls his single cab pickup truck up to a desolate street corner, he addresses a lady who is loitering there>
HSH: "Hey, darling, you lookin' to celebrate your birthday tonight?"

More like this:

(Trucker): Psst. Fella. How you doing?

Wharry: Alright, alright, alright. Where ya from, big guy?

T: Idaho. Haulin' some taters to Florida. So what are you doing in the back of this truck stop?

W: Uh... I got turned around leaving church.

T: You wanna come into my cab? Earn $20 the easy way?

W: $30.

T: $25.

W: Okay, but it's my birthday.

T: I'll give you a present you won't forget.

W: I want $25 for my birthday.

T: I'll give you whatever you want, sausage tits. Just get in here.

W: Let me see the money.

T: Here ya go.

W: No, not that money, the real money. Zip up, you'll get us arrested.

T: You gotta come up here and get in first.

W: No, I've fallen for that before and it still hurts to fart. Not a chance.

T: Here's a five. Truth is, it's all I have.

W: Okay, but you have to give me a birthday present.

T: Oh, I'll give you a present. Come up here and sit on my lap, fatass.

W: Let me see the $5.

T: I only have two dollars.

W: (Sigh). Well..... okay. But I get to climb up on the passenger side and look inside real good first.

T: Nope, you have to put on this blindfold and these handcuffs and climb over me then you can have your $2.

W: This reminds me of when my grandmother got meals on wheels -- she said the drivers were really nice. I'm against meals on wheels because I think it's wasteful.

T: Did you bring a rubber?

W: I found one behind the dumpster, see?

T: It has a hole and some gum on it.

W: I washed it off. Why waste?

T: You gotta get a rubber. Not a used one, either. I'm tired of you lot lizards spreading stuff around.

W: Libtard. I'll go get you one, but you have to pay for it.

T: I'm paying you $2.00 That's all you're getting.

W: But a rubber is $2.50. I'll go in the hole $.50.

(silence)

W: Hang on, I'll go get us one. Don't forget it's my birthday.

T: Hurry up.

 

[Medic007]

More like this:

(Trucker): Psst. Fella. How you doing?

Wharry: Alright, alright, alright. Where ya from, big guy?

T: Idaho. Haulin' some taters to Florida. So what are you doing in the back of this truck stop?

W: Uh... I got turned around leaving church.

T: You wanna come into my cab? Earn $20 the easy way?

W: $30.

T: $25.

W: Okay, but it's my birthday.

T: I'll give you a present you won't forget.

W: I want $25 for my birthday.

T: I'll give you whatever you want, sausage tits. Just get in here.

W: Let me see the money.

T: Here ya go.

W: No, not that money, the real money. Zip up, you'll get us arrested.

T: You gotta come up here and get in first.

W: No, I've fallen for that before and it still hurts to fart. Not a chance.

T: Here's a five. Truth is, it's all I have.

W: Okay, but you have to give me a birthday present.

T: Oh, I'll give you a present. Come up here and sit on my lap, fatass.

W: Let me see the $5.

T: I only have two dollars.

W: (Sigh). Well..... okay. But I get to climb up on the passenger side and look inside real good first.

T: Nope, you have to put on this blindfold and these handcuffs and climb over me then you can have your $2.

W: This reminds me of when my grandmother got meals on wheels -- she said the drivers were really nice. I'm against meals on wheels because I think it's wasteful.

T: Did you bring a rubber?

W: I found one behind the dumpster, see?

T: It has a hole and some gum on it.

W: I washed it off. Why waste?

T: You gotta get a rubber. Not a used one, either. I'm tired of you lot lizards spreading stuff around.

W: Libtard. I'll go get you one, but you have to pay for it.

T: I'm paying you $2.00 That's all you're getting.

W: But a rubber is $2.50. I'll go in the hole $.50.

(silence)

W: Hang on, I'll go get us one. Don't forget it's my birthday.

T: Hurry up.

Yeah, not even funny. You crashed and burned about 8 lines in. Tried way too hard.

I'll be waiting for your lefty colleagues to call you out for the obvious homophobia.

@CSCOTTOSUPOKES, we've got a pile of homophobia on isle 4 that needs your attention.