Mills vetoes bill to partially legalize prostitution
(The Center Square) – Maine Gov. Janet Mills has vetoed a proposal to partially legalize prostitution in the state, arguing that the measure would force more people into the sex trade.
The bill, approved by the Democratic-controlled Legislature, would have eliminated all penalties for engaging in prostitution while increasing criminal penalties for those who solicit prostitutes and pimps who force them into the sex trade.
Supporters of the bill, which is part of a nationwide campaign, say it would reduce human trafficking and focus more resources on sex trade victims.
In her veto message, Mills pointed out that prostitution is not longer a jailable offense in Maine under recent changes to state law, and said state prosecutors are treating it as a “social services issue rather criminal problem.”
But Mills added she is “not convinced” that eliminating all penalties for prostitution as the bill called for is the “best path forward.”
“No state in the nation has legalized commercial sex work,” Mills wrote in her veto message. “Even in Nevada, known as the only state to have legal commercial sex work, prostitution still illegal outside regulated, designated facilities in a single county.”
Mills said she feared approving the changes would “only increase demand and encourage the exploitation of young people by those who profit from the mistreatment of others, undermining the free will of those trapped in difficult and sometimes tragic circumstances.”
Mills, a former state prosecutor and attorney general, noted that testimony on the bill from survivors of human trafficking was compelling, and divided.
“While some hope this bill will protect the survivors of human trafficking, a goal I share, others fear that sex traffickers would use decriminalization of prostitution as a way to entice more people into their trade,” she wrote.
The bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt, D-South Portland, said the goal was to provide more protections for the victims of sex trafficking while increasing sanctions for those who perpetuate the trade by paying for sex.
“Prostitution therefore is redefined as a buyer problem and a demand issue,” she told members of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee during testimony on her bill last month. “The prostituted person is a victim if a patron attempted to buy her or him.”
Mills noted in her veto message that a separate bill, which she recently signed, is a better approach to dealing with the issue of sex trafficking. The new law expands the affirmative defense of engaging in prostitution to “prevent bodily injury serious economic hardship or another threat to the person.”
Mills noted that concerns about human trafficking in Maine have grown in recent years, and police and prosecutors are focused on recognizing when a person is being compelled to engage in prostitution.
“This has allowed us to rightly begin viewing and treating the person as a survivor and provide that person with appropriate services — an approach that I believe is appropriate,” she wrote.
Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square
