AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill into law Monday that partially decriminalizes prostitution in Maine.
The bill, LD 1435, as amended, eliminates the crime of engaging in prostitution and raises the solicitation of a child for commercial sexual exploitation from a Class D crime to a Class C crime.
The bill also makes language changes in state law to rename the crime of “patronizing prostitution of a minor or a person with a mental disability” to “commercial sexual exploitation of a minor or a person with a mental disability” and renames the crime of “solicitation of a child to engage in prostitution” to “solicitation of a child for commercial sexual exploitation.”
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I personally am not a fan of prostitution for many reasons, but if it is regulated to avoid human trafficking and the spread of diseases, I think it should be legal.
Here’s a fun thing- it’s illegal in most states to pay someone for sex, but legal in some of those states if you put a camera in front of it.
It’s that funny how that works out. It’s viewed as paying them to be on camera not the sex. It’s like selling a rubber duck and drugs so you can’t be charged with a drug crime, that was just a free bonus.
I guess it’s kind of like escort services. “We aren’t saying you can’t have sex with the customer, but we’re not saying you shouldn’t.”
Keep in mind, under this law buying sex is still illegal.
The law is not trying to make it okay for prostitution to happen, its to make sure abused or desperate women don’t go to jail when turning to it or forced into it.
