[UPDATED] Inside NYC Rentboy Rally For Sex Work Decriminalization

Posted September 4, 2015 6:23 AM by Harlan with 0 comments

Update Friday, September 4, 2015

A Rally in support of Rentboy and its CEO Jeffrey Hurant, took place yesterday in Brooklyn, NY.

From The NY Daily News:

Chanting “Keep your laws off my body,” gay activists marched Thursday outside Brooklyn Federal Court demanding that prosecutors drop prostitution charges against seven employees of the Rentboy.com website.

Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters

About 70 protesters — men and women — carried signs calling for the legalization of prostitution, and some activists even suggested last week’s takedown could be a watershed moment for the gay rights movement, like the riot that erupted after cops raided the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in 1969.

Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters

“This is consensual sex, no one is being trafficked or exploited,” said Andy Humm, a city rights commissioner under former Mayor David Dinkins.

Bill Dobbs, a rally organizer, said the movement will target elected officials to gather support for legislation to decriminalize prostitution.

Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters

(h/t NY Daily News)

Original Story: Wednesday,September 2, 2015

The Rentboy raid and renewed urgency in decriminalizing sex work have been hot topics here lately. Tomorrow in NYC, those topics converge in a rally planned at noon.

From the Facebook event page:

LGBT and Civil Liberties Advocates Denounce Arrests of Rentboy.com Staff, Call for Dropping Charges and Decriminalization of Sex Work

RALLY Thurs., Sept. 3rd, Noon, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn

LGBT activists, civil rights organizations, the HookUp Collaborative and supporters will hold a demonstration this Thursday, Sept. 3rd, at Noon at the U.S. Eastern District Courthouse in downtown Brooklyn to demand that the U.S. Attorney stop the prosecution of Rentboy.com and drop all charges after the raid on them by Homeland Security.

We are outraged at this latest example of the abuse and selective prosecution of sex workers. We are sick and tired of this misuse of government time and money to persecute members of the sex industry. This unrelenting harassment and persecution endangers the health and safety of these workers and their clients, and disproportionately targets the poor and people of color.
We demand an end to this system of criminalization.

WHAT: Demonstration to protest Rentboy.com prosecutions and criminalization of sex work

WHEN: Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 12 noon

WHERE: United States Court for the Eastern District, 225 Cadman Plaza East (on Cadman Plaza Park near corner of Tillary Street; take A or C to High Street or 2 or 3 to Clark St. in Brooklyn Heights). See map here

CONTACT: Bill Dobbs at 917-822-5422 (c); 212-966-1091; duchamp@mindspring.com

HASHTAG: #HolandSecurityRally