You want to do what?

I saw this in the paper a couple days back and was taken aback. No way is that legit. Then today I saw it again and was a little shocked. I read the article and it was true.

San Francisco has an open ballot question, called Proposition K, which will determine whether or not prostitution will be legal in the city.

Technically, it doesn't legalize prostitution. It will still be illegal by state law. However, local law enforcement would no longer be able to question or pursue prostitutes (and not pursuing like that), so for all intents and purposes, it would be legal. The reasoning behind it is it would make the world's oldest profession a far safer one in the Bay area (yay! prostitute unions!) and it would save the city upwards of $11 million a year in arresting them on misdemeanor solicitation charges.

I just finished Warren Ellis' debut novel Crooked Little Vein and it discusses how at this point in America, everything is mainstream and nothing is sacred. I agree with this, that we've reached a point where anything goes. However, this feels like a step down a bad path to me. There is a level of lawlessness to this proposition that could lead to many other things, and I can't imagine the people of San Francisco will actually vote it in.

Think about it. If this gets legalized, this essentially becomes Amsterdam, California. With protection available for them and no worries about police, I bet the number of prostitutes triple in the first year. For some reason, I can't imagine the tourism board is really excited about this (I really can't wait to see how they capitalize on that though). One good note for them is I bet the amount of business travellers will also increase, so they'll have that to look forward to.

At the very least, the San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, and San Francisco 49ers will now have new (or at least newly legal) methods of throwing their opponents off their game. Here's to small victories San Fran!