[Lnc-business] URGENT - Request for ExCom meeting to add LP's voice opposing FOSTA (HR 1865) and SESTA (S. 1693)
Elizabeth Van Horn
elizabeth.vanhorn at lp.org
Wed Feb 28 10:49:26 EST 2018
Thank you Wes!
Also, Daniel, I like your idea. Since you mentioned that a news station
had done a year long investigation, they might also welcome news of a
political party speaking up against legislation that hinders sex
trafficking investigations and puts more people at risk. The same
political party being in NOLA for their national convention.
---
Elizabeth Van Horn
LNC Region 3 (IN, MI, OH, KY)
Secretary Libertarian Party of Madison Co, Indiana
Chair-LP Social Media Process Review Committee
Vice-Chair Libertarian Pragmatist Caucus
http://www.lpcaucus.org/
On 2018-02-28 10:23, Wes Benedict wrote:
> A press release is drafted on the topic and working its way through
> the editorial, approval, and distribution process, likely to lead to a
> publication this afternoon.
>
> Wes Benedict, Executive Director
> Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
> 1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
> (202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict at lp.org
> facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational
> Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership
>
> On 2/28/2018 10:18 AM, Daniel Hayes wrote:
>> If we had a press release go out about these sex trafficking
>> “protection” rackets the government runs that would be great. They
>> pulled 8 strip clubs liquor licenses very recently over sex
>> trafficking concerns. A news station had done a YEAR long
>> investigation prior to this happening and did not find evidence even
>> once at any of the clubs.
>>
>> That put people out of work for a week or longer when they were set to
>> have one of their busier periods with Mardi Gras. One girl in a news
>> article reported she had just gotten an apartment after being homeless
>> thanks to dancing. Any honest person can grasp which situation put
>> her at the actual risk for being kidnapped and trafficked. Thanks to
>> the morality police this young woman had to worry about facing that
>> danger again instead of being in a club where she decides what she
>> wants tk do within their rules and has very definite protection
>> against being forced to do something she doesn’t.
>>
>> I think I see a breakout here for convention. The use of sex
>> trafficking concerns to push political agendas. I have some
>> connections to some of the organizers of the protests down here. It
>> might be a good way to bring some news faces in.
>>
>> Now if we just had a press release.
>>
>>
>> Daniel Hayes
>> LNC At Large Member
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Feb 28, 2018, at 7:32 AM, Elizabeth Van Horn
>>> <elizabeth.vanhorn at lp.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Daniel, and anyone else, who's still having an issue with not seeing
>>> attachments or links. I've always gone straight to the
>>> lpmail.lp.org/webmail (Roundcube webmail)
>>>
>>> I have a link saved in a bookmark, click it, and am there. On my PC
>>> (I realize I could have uses an email software to incorporate into my
>>> other mail, but didn't want to this this purpose.)
>>>
>>> So, if continuing to have issues with attachments and links not being
>>> seen, try going straight to the roundcube webmail.
>>>
>>> ---
>>> Elizabeth Van Horn
>>> LNC Region 3 (IN, MI, OH, KY)
>>> Secretary Libertarian Party of Madison Co, Indiana
>>> Chair-LP Social Media Process Review Committee
>>> Vice-Chair Libertarian Pragmatist Caucus
>>> http://www.lpcaucus.org/
>>>
>>>> On 2018-02-27 16:16, Daniel Hayes wrote:
>>>> The email system is gaslighting me. NOW I have “pictures” imbedded
>>>> in the middle of the email along with attachments.
>>>> Daniel
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>> On Feb 27, 2018, at 12:19 PM, Elizabeth Van Horn
>>>>> <elizabeth.vanhorn at lp.org> wrote:
>>>>> I see both the attachments and the links. (Attachments are pdfs)
>>>>> I also agree with Starchild on this issue.
>>>>> ---
>>>>> Elizabeth Van Horn
>>>>> LNC Region 3 (IN, MI, OH, KY)
>>>>> Secretary Libertarian Party of Madison Co, Indiana
>>>>> Chair-LP Social Media Process Review Committee
>>>>> Vice-Chair Libertarian Pragmatist Caucus
>>>>> http://www.lpcaucus.org/
>>>>>> On 2018-02-26 19:40, Starchild wrote:
>>>>>> I'm requesting that the LNC Executive Committee hold a special
>>>>>> meeting
>>>>>> ASAP for the purpose of voting to add the Libertarian Party as a
>>>>>> signatory to the following attached letter in opposition to two
>>>>>> bad
>>>>>> pieces of legislation currently in Congress which would further
>>>>>> criminalize consensual prostitution, and related online speech
>>>>>> including sharing harm reduction and safety tips for sex workers,
>>>>>> in
>>>>>> the name of fighting sex trafficking (which they would do nothing
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> stop).
>>>>>> This harmful legislation was just brought to my attention. The
>>>>>> House
>>>>>> bill, the "Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex
>>>>>> Trafficking
>>>>>> Act" or FOSTA, may be voted on in the House as soon as TOMORROW
>>>>>> (Tuesday, February 27), which makes this a time–sensitive matter
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> lacks the time for a vote of the full LNC.
>>>>>> I've reviewed the letter and did not notice anything
>>>>>> substantive in
>>>>>> it that is objectionable from a libertarian perspective, but I
>>>>>> encourage others to review it as well. Due to our screwed-up email
>>>>>> list, I have copied the text of the letter below as well as
>>>>>> attaching
>>>>>> it as a PDF file. Also attached is a graphic detailing some of the
>>>>>> provisions of these two bills (which may not come through).
>>>>>> The libertarian-oriented Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
>>>>>> also
>>>>>> has a page devoted to stopping FOSTA for its Internet censorship
>>>>>> provisions –
>>>>>> https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1693 .
>>>>>> Another website with additional information detailing what's bad
>>>>>> about
>>>>>> both bills is
>>>>>> https://medium.com/@EngineOrg/myth-vs-fact-what-you-need-to-know-about-sesta-fosta-850e74f3b8c4
>>>>>> .
>>>>>> The actual text of the bills can be read at
>>>>>> https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1865
>>>>>> (FOSTA)
>>>>>> and https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1693
>>>>>> (SESTA).
>>>>>> Love & Liberty,
>>>>>> ((( starchild )))
>>>>>> At-Large Representative, Libertarian National Committee
>>>>>> RealReform at earthlink.net
>>>>>> (415) 625-FREE
>>>>>> @StarchildSF
>>>>>> TEXT OF LETTER FOR LP TO SIGN ONTO:
>>>>>> February 25, 2018
>>>>>> As organizations which support the rights, health and wellbeing of
>>>>>> individuals who trade sex, the undersigned are firmly against the
>>>>>> passage of “Stop Enabling Sex Trafficking Act” SESTA (S. 1693) and
>>>>>> “Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” FOSTA (H.1865). This
>>>>>> legislation
>>>>>> will cause harm without improving anti-trafficking efforts.
>>>>>> Passage of
>>>>>> this legislation will put the most vulnerable in our communities
>>>>>> at
>>>>>> higher risk of violence and victimization. We reject legislation
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> threaten the lives and safety of individuals trading sex - people
>>>>>> who
>>>>>> are disproportionately LGBTQ, immigrant, and people of color
>>>>>> trying to
>>>>>> survive. This legislation will target peers and communities who
>>>>>> use
>>>>>> the internet for harm reduction and anti-violence work, and
>>>>>> isolate
>>>>>> people who trade sex, increasing vulnerability to violence and
>>>>>> victimization.
>>>>>> Meaningful anti-trafficking work should not make those in the sex
>>>>>> trade more susceptible to violence and exploitation. After the
>>>>>> closure
>>>>>> of RedBook or Rentboy.com, sex workers became even more vulnerable
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> economically precarious. Both FOSTA and SESTA promote the closing
>>>>>> of
>>>>>> those websites and chill the possibility for organizations to
>>>>>> create
>>>>>> internet-based platforms which service providers and communities
>>>>>> use
>>>>>> to distribute and access harm reduction and safety information and
>>>>>> techniques.
>>>>>> Under the current language in the Communications and Decency Act,
>>>>>> prosecutors have every tool required to go after third parties,
>>>>>> including websites, who have engaged in trafficking in persons.
>>>>>> The
>>>>>> proposed changes made by SESTA open this to a wider civil
>>>>>> liability
>>>>>> without clear guidelines for how to obey the law. These costly
>>>>>> lawsuits could easily imperil any website which caters to, or even
>>>>>> acknowledges, people who trade sex. This including websites which:
>>>>>> - Host ads, enabling safer conditions and screening for violence
>>>>>> - Host harm reduction information and mechanisms, including safety
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> health tips for workers
>>>>>> - Create community for people who trade sex to share information
>>>>>> We anticipate that this will have a chilling effect on websites
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> organizations providing valuable safety information, community and
>>>>>> peer support. Denying these resources exacerbate the risk of
>>>>>> violence
>>>>>> and victimization of sex workers, including those experiencing
>>>>>> exploitation.
>>>>>> Websites which hold that information are also vital resources for
>>>>>> trafficking investigations. Pushing the sex trade further
>>>>>> underground
>>>>>> means that it will be harder to identify potential victims, find
>>>>>> an
>>>>>> electronic trail for which to build cases, and resurrect
>>>>>> information
>>>>>> to access post-conviction relief. SESTA disincentivizes websites
>>>>>> from
>>>>>> holding or creating a digital footprint, destroying these valuable
>>>>>> tools for law enforcement and service providers.
>>>>>> Further, shutting down websites that sex workers use to screen
>>>>>> clients
>>>>>> more safely through ads does not deter people from trading sex. To
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> contrary, this only drives sex workers to find clients through
>>>>>> street-based work where they face higher rates of violence, HIV,
>>>>>> Hep C
>>>>>> and STI transmission, and exploitation. And those with fewer
>>>>>> options
>>>>>> will inevitably be the most impacted. The impact of this
>>>>>> legislation
>>>>>> is that trafficking victims will see more trauma and violence and
>>>>>> have
>>>>>> fewer opportunities for identification by law enforcement.
>>>>>> The House-backed bill, FOSTA, takes this one step further and
>>>>>> criminalizes anyone using those platforms - including sex workers
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> trafficking victims - and expands this to prostitution, as opposed
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> the narrower crime of sex trafficking. By expanding the Mann Act,
>>>>>> which criminalizes the transportation of a person across state
>>>>>> lines
>>>>>> for the purpose of prostitution, to encompass all of the internet
>>>>>> means that all harm reduction tools, which almost always involve
>>>>>> connecting to peers and community for safety and information,
>>>>>> makes
>>>>>> people criminally liable for up to ten years in prison. Under
>>>>>> FOSTA,
>>>>>> sharing information about violence, victimizers, HIV/STI
>>>>>> transmission
>>>>>> when engaged in sex work would put a person at risk for criminal
>>>>>> prosecution. We have already seen these activities criminalized to
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> detriment of those trading sex, and very often criminalizing
>>>>>> trafficking victims themselves. Improving anti-trafficking efforts
>>>>>> does not mean expanding the umbrella to crimes which require no
>>>>>> force,
>>>>>> fraud or coercion, and this expansion undermines the original
>>>>>> intent
>>>>>> of the law.
>>>>>> Currently, there are no standards for what is expected of
>>>>>> internet-based platforms when trafficking in the sex trade is
>>>>>> suspected. This legislation does not get us closer to that goal,
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> instead makes it harder for trafficking investigators, prosecutors
>>>>>> or
>>>>>> service providers to connect with potential victims and sex
>>>>>> workers
>>>>>> better able to protect themselves from exploitation. Meaningful
>>>>>> legislation would empower stakeholders - sex workers, internet
>>>>>> platforms, law enforcement, the legal community and service
>>>>>> providers
>>>>>> - to come together and build those expectations in a way which
>>>>>> mitigates harm.
>>>>>> As organizations which believe in supporting the safety and lives
>>>>>> of
>>>>>> those engaged in the sex trade, we condemn these efforts and
>>>>>> encourage
>>>>>> Congress to focus their efforts on harm reduction. These moves
>>>>>> criminalize the survival of our communities, especially those with
>>>>>> compounding marginalizations which make resources even more
>>>>>> difficult
>>>>>> to obtain.
>>>>>> Sincerely,
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