TX HB1540 (Increasing Prohibited Sex Work Penalties From Misdemeanors To Felonies)

[JackTee]

Originally Posted by ShysterJon

I'll try my best to write on this topic this week. I'm a little busy right now.

Looking forward to your point of view on this. I'm wondering if this is intended to be used as a bargaining chip to get hobbyists to give up info for reduced charges. Like the war on drugs, it seems that making solicitation more illegal would work counter to the goals of reducing trafficking.

[lbbguy]

Shall we expect your comments on TX HB 1540 soon?
Please.

[TinMan]

For him to get it right i imagine is an extremely time-consuming process. It’s a loooong bill that covered a lot of ground (sorry if I’ve said that before). The guy has to make a living, too. I decided not to plead with him after I read that monstrosity.

[SecretE]

Originally Posted by TinMan

For him to get it right i imagine is an extremely time-consuming process. It’s a loooong bill that covered a lot of ground (sorry if I’ve said that before). The guy has to make a living, too. I decided not to plead with him after I read that monstrosity.

It's a 1-2 page section of that bill that is pertinent to this topic. Jon has always been good about helping us all, so I'm not going to throw shade, if he is genuinely busy.

[TinMan]

Originally Posted by SecretE

It's a 1-2 page section of that bill that is pertinent to this topic. Jon has always been good about helping us all, so I'm not going to throw shade, if he is genuinely busy.

Maybe, but a good lawyer is going to read the whole thing before coming to that conclusion.

[straightshooter30]

Originally Posted by Big Ed

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1276617.

This is the most complete news article I've read so far as it tries to give a balanced view of the new law.

One question is they keep quoting that 79k youth in TX are trafficked at any given time. Well that is close to .7% of all the youth under 18 of both genders so it seems like a large number to me.

I also really don't see where they're giving the providers a break with pretrial diversions, at least not for run of the mill cases.

I'm late to this thread, but: They assume no one would willingly do sex work, therefore all are 'victims' and 'trafficked'.

[LexusLover]

There's a provision in the bill regarding age, and it should be carefully examined, particularly for those who frequent spas. The Feds have a similar provision with respect to age. An older person can pretend to be "young" and a younger person can pretend to be older. It doesn't matter how old the person actually is .... what matters is what the male charged "believed" or "thought" what the age might be.

And for naysayers: There is case law on it. Plenty. Texas doesn't always follow Fed law to a "T" but that may also depend on the county involved. That was the case with respect to other offenses involving provisions that could be interpreted differently. Unfortunately, this may be one of those discretionary matters that will vary from one county to another depending on the DA's discretion. And that means it may take a few months or more to get a good read on the enforcement at a local level or ...

... was this increase in punishment to facilitate increased grant money that was more readily available for felonies than misdemeanors...shifting the costs of enforcement to the Feds aka Department of Justice.

[ICU 812]

With the new felony chsrge available it will be worth the effort to go after the Hobbyists.

I anticipate a string of sting operations with headline reporting. Wait and see who gets caught. Major sporting events and conventions, will bring in some prominent near celebrity figure or politician who drops into the net.

That will be awkward.

[CryptKicker]

Doubtful they will worry about the one on one interactions of established relationships. Touring ladies may have more to worry about.

[SecretE]

Originally Posted by CryptKicker

Doubtful they will worry about the one on one interactions of established relationships. Touring ladies may have more to worry about.

Seems like this bill is targeted more towards stemming the demand from the gents, rather than targeting the supply of ladies. I do agree, you will probably be "safer" with ladies you have already seen who don't have "handlers"...but still, as I read it, this law is a paradigm shift in how LE is trying to stop solicitation.

[TinMan]

Originally Posted by ICU 812

With the new felony chsrge available it will be worth the effort to go after the Hobbyists.

I anticipate a string of sting operations with headline reporting. Wait and see who gets caught. Major sporting events and conventions, will bring in some prominent near celebrity figure or politician who drops into the net.

That will be awkward.

They don’t want to mess with those guys. They have the money to fight it, and frankly I don’t know that the world is so woke yet that they want to see their stars get jailed for solicitation.

No, they want nobodies. Numbers are more palatable than big names. What they don’t realize is most of the guys who get convicted will be lower-income dudes who can’t afford to fight it. I wonder how long it will take for them to realize the disproportionate number of non-white men who end up with felony convictions.

[Doug4343]

I was in an AMP and mamasan took me to a room. Realized I had to piss, asked the provider who came in if I could go to the bathroom. She pointed the way. I walked out, walked around the corner, and ran straight into a local wealthy celebrity. My first thought was, this guy is loaded, what the fuck is he doing here? I have not forgotten that. I think those guys will get picked up and splashed across the media like poor Mr Kraft

[rexdutchman]

sounds unconstitutional ,,,,Because marriage would be a felony,,, any "hook up""
And of course its not gonna stop anything typical feel good crap

[LexusLover]

Originally Posted by rexdutchman

sounds unconstitutional ,,,,Because marriage would be a felony,,, any "hook up""

Never heard of being married as a "hook up," although I have met some married ladies who had a more casual view of their marital status.

My guess is that some manner of proving one is married to the person with whom they are caught having sex would deter the "arresting officer" from pursuing the matter beyond an apology tagged with "I was doing my job!"

Webster: "hook up"!

an act or an instance of hooking up
especially : a casual sexual encounter

It's not "unconstitutional" in my opinion. Prostitution hasn't been found to be so.

[LexusLover]

Originally Posted by Doug4343

I was in an AMP and mamasan took me to a room. Realized I had to piss, asked the provider who came in if I could go to the bathroom. She pointed the way. I walked out, walked around the corner, and ran straight into a local wealthy celebrity. My first thought was, this guy is loaded, what the fuck is he doing here? I have not forgotten that. I think those guys will get picked up and splashed across the media like poor Mr Kraft

It's in the news too often when it happens. If one is a Republican.