Bill To Decriminalize Prostitution Statewide Moves Forward
Trevor Phipps
Back in the Wild West days, prostitution ran rampant across newly settled towns. During Cripple Creek’s big gold boom in the 1890s and early 1900s, brothels lined the streets of the city’s infamous “Red Light District.”
Prostitution was soon outlawed around the same time Colorado became a state, but it still continued. In fact, all the way into the mid-20th century, houses of ill repute were rampant across Teller County.
But in recent years, the Ute Pass region has taken a strong stance against any adult-related businesses. About 15 years ago, the city of Woodland Park outlawed all types of adult entertainment businesses. In addition, the city of Cripple Creek also denied an entrepreneur who wished to open up a strip club inside the city in a meeting that attracted a standing-room-only crowd.
Recently, area leaders made headlines again when state lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 26-097, which would decriminalize prostitution across the state. Woodland Park, along with Fountain and Monument were the first municipalities to register against the bill through their lobbyists. “I think it’s insanity,” Woodland Park Mayor Kellie Case said.
Even though the bill hasn’t even been brought in front of a committee in the Senate yet, many strong opinions have already come forth. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has already given their full support for the bill, citing the benefits for protecting sex workers and women engaged in this industry.
Meanwhile, the Colorado Republicans have strongly opposed the proposed new law. According to CBS News, the state’s GOP stated that the bill would be “a green light for exploitation, commodifying bodies, and fueling human trafficking in a state already ranking high for it.”
Currently the bill is sponsored by four Democrats: state Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, D-Pueblo, state Sen. Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County, and Democratic state Reps. Lorena Garcia of Adams County and Rebekah Stewart of Lakewood. Hinrichsen, who was a lead sponsor of the bill, said that it came about after he had a conversation with a constituent who was a sex worker.
Hinrichsen said that eliminating all criminal penalties at the state level for prostitutes and their patrons would remediate “harmful” outcomes that are felt by those involved in sex work with the state’s current laws. “I want to differentiate between decriminalization and legalization,” he said, according to The Colorado Sun. “We’re simply removing the legal penalties for it. When we think of legalized schemes, we think of Amsterdam, we think of Nevada. Those are problematic because they end up creating a two-tiered system: one where you have legal protections and coverage, and one where there isn’t. We actually tend to see more trafficking in the underground and in the black market in those places.”
What Exactly Would the Bill Do?
Overall, the proposed legislation would get rid of most of the criminal charges related to sex work. “The bill repeals the state criminal offenses of prostitution, soliciting for prostitution, keeping a place of prostitution, patronizing a prostitute, and prostitute making display,” the bill’s summary states. “It also repeals the offense of pandering (soliciting prostitution) when it involves knowingly arranging or offering to arrange a situation that permits a person to practice prostitution.”
The bill, though, would still make pimping (defined as making a living off of the sex work of another person) illegal. State laws surrounding human trafficking would stay in place.
“The bill maintains current state criminal penalties for pandering that involves menacing or criminal intimidation and for pimping, but it changes terminology in those offenses by replacing ‘prostitution’ with ‘commercial sexual activity,’” the summary reads.
It would also remain illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to engage in prostitution. The bill would also allow those convicted of charges related to prostitution to expunge their records.
If passed, it would make Colorado the second state to allow prostitution next to Nevada. However, many argue that the bill would make Colorado’s prostitution laws even less restrictive than Nevada because counties can opt out of legal prostitution under Nevada’s laws. This wouldn’t be the case in Colorado.
The bill would basically end all arrests for prostitution, leaving counties and municipalities that don’t want it with their hands tied. The bill though, would also place it into the hands of local governments to establish a way of regulating the sex businesses.
Background checks would be required for all owners of prostitution establishments. Anyone with past convictions of crimes related to dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or sexual misconduct could be denied a license.
Local governments would also have to establish a bureau that would keep track of every client and what services were conducted. This information would be considered public record.
But even very early in the stages, a number of high politicians have spoken out against the bill. Governor Jared Polis’s office has yet to comment on either side. “Is this what they should be focused on?” The Pitkin County Republicans asked in a social media post. “Do they think that the taxes from legal prostitution will be the answer to our $850 million budget deficit? Do we want our state to be funded by drugs and sex?”
