DENVER (LifeSiteNews) – Democrats in the Colorado legislature introduced legislation that would make the Centennial State the first in the Union to legalize prostitution statewide, a radical position with a surprising amount of support within the Democrat Party.
Senate Bill 26-097 would decriminalize “commercial sexual activity among consenting adults” statewide, overriding any localities that wish to penalize it. It repeals all existing criminal statutes relating to offering, soliciting, facilitating, or committing prostitution, retaining only “current state criminal penalties for pandering that involves menacing or criminal intimidation and for pimping,” defined as living off the proceeds from someone else’s prostitution. It would maintain penalties and reporting requirements for human trafficking.
Should it clear the Democrat-controlled Legislature and be signed into law by Democrat Gov. Jared Polis, the bill would make Colorado even more extreme than Nevada, currently the only state where prostitution is partly legal, on a county-by-county basis, with localities retaining the power to ban it.
The proposal, introduced by state Sens. Nick Hinrichsen and Lisa Cutter and state Reps. Lorena Garcia and Rebekah Stewart, is based on claims that decriminalization has improved health and safety for sex workers in other countries.
But state Republicans strenuously disagree, issuing a statement that it would give a “green light for exploitation, commodifying bodies, and fueling human trafficking in a state already ranking high for it.” Several towns have also declared their opposition, warning it usurps their authority and would saddle them, not the state, with handling the fallout.
Rachel Moran, an author and former prostitute, has argued that when sex work becomes legal, “there is no incentive for the government to provide exit strategies for those who want to get out of it.”
“It’s nonsense to say a person can be empowered by allowing their body to be as open to the public as a train or bus station. And consent requires viable choices and alternatives,” she says. “When prostitution is socially endorsed, the market expands. Where are these new bodies coming from? Young women with choices are not going to say, ‘I’ll go into the sex trade instead of going to college.’ No. Socially disadvantaged young girls are funneled straight into prostitution.”
While the issue does not come up often in national politics, numerous high-profile Democrats actually support legalizing prostitution. During the party’s 2020 presidential primary, most of the field expressed support for decriminalization, including future Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker, and then-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (who has since left the party and joined the Trump administration). Prominent socialist Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren also expressed openness but were unwilling to fully endorse legalization.
