Reason: Florida Is Creating a New Sex Offender Registry Just for Prostitution Customers
Florida lawmakers just voted to create a public registry of people caught paying or attempting to pay for sex.
After an initial defeat in the Florida House of Representatives, the registry—arguably the worst part of a new Florida crime bill capitalizing on human-trafficking propaganda—was revived and reinserted before the measure’s passage in the Florida Senate. The final version, approved last week, creates a database of convicted prostitution customers, targets strip clubs, and mandates that a slew of state workers and businesses jump through new hoops to accommodate a few politicians’ latest attempt to get their names in the press.
As the Florida Senate’s Committee on Community Affairs stated, the new registry “will collect and centralize information relating to those convicted of soliciting prostitution, regardless of whether the person subject to the solicitation is a victim of human trafficking or not.”
The Soliciting for Prostitution Public Database will list anyone who has been convicted of, or plead guilty, to “soliciting, inducing, enticing, or procuring another to commit prostitution, lewdness, or assignation.” The legislation specifies that the database should include a person’s name, photograph, address, and offense. Listed people who go five years without a subsequent offense could have their names removed.
“This isn’t creating a list of bad or dangerous clients; it’s just a list of clients who got caught by the police,”
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How about a new registry for public stupidity? I think it is gravely needed to alert the “good” people of Florida about opportunistic morons and I suggest “professional victim” and all around waste of space Senator Lauren Book for the first registrant.
Keeping it in the family (as stupidity tends to run in families) Ron Book is clearly the next for this registry (although he is also being considered for the DUI registry currently being “brainstormed”).
So let the registration begin and welcome to the perks of being registered – such as being constantly monitored, harassed, stereotyped, marginalized, abused, and even KILLED by those who feel superior and/or fear those singled out for any registry!
Human Trafficking is a serious problem, harming people worldwide and destroying lives. Young children are exploited and forced to do things that they shouldn’t even know about. I am really glad there are organizations out there trying to do what they can to save people caught up in it. Florida, however, is not one of those organizations.
Florida is using this horrific industry for it’s own benefit to justify more surveillance and condemnation. While it is true that some caught in human trafficking do end up in prostitution, to declare all prostitution as human trafficking minimizes the seriousness of human trafficking. It will also desensitize people from the horrors of human trafficking. I do not believe that the state of Florida cares one bit about human trafficking. I believe Florida loves to prosecute and incarcerate people, nothing more…nothing less. And it sickens me to see Florida use such a serious problem just to create another registry.
This is so well expressed. Florida elected officials are exploring our horror of human trafficking in order to impose…something else entirely. And when that trafficking continues, they’ll impose yet something else.
WHL
Well stated . It’s too bad the simple truths are so very hard for many to recognize.
Well said WHL. That is EXACTLY what Flori-duh is doing! And the ring leaders of it all, Ronald and Lauren. The alchy and the asshole.
But the thing is, we’ve sat here and identified the problem for years (Florida), and we sit here and complain about it endlessly. But it’s time for SOMEBODY with connections, power, and know-how to step up and HELP US bring this state down and give us some relief. It is my only wish in life before I die, to see this state and all of it’s ignorant inbred Republican (& some Democrat) legislatures go down in flames for all of the corruption and misery that they have imposed on a big majority of it’s citizenry.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE WITH ENOUGH BALLS AND COURAGE TO HELP US DO THIS??!!!
*Stop being greedy all you lawyers out there. Have some character and some courage and actually do something that is meaningful and will help people for once instead of padding your pockets so you can afford your Lamborghini and Porsche payments every month!! We’re suffering out here!! For real!!!