Why should you get in trouble just because you have a condom?! | Source: ShutterStock
As if sex wasn’t stressful enough, now those of you responsible enough to be having safe sex may be at risk of getting arrested just because you have a condom on you. What the heck?!
I’m about to get a little technical, so bear with me here. You probably know that in most places in the U.S., prostitution is illegal. (Whether or not you agree with that is up to you–but the law simply doesn’t like it.) To be arrested for prostitution, by law, a cop has to actually witness an offer–overhear someone offering sexual favors for money. However, in New York, there’s a law that can actually get you arrested for just maybe sort of looking like you might be a prostitute. It’s called “loitering for the purpose of prostitution.”
“Loitering for the purpose of prostitution” basically means hanging around where prostitution is known to happen and, according to a cop, looking like you’re trying to pick a dude up to have sex for money. And that can seriously mean anything. If you’re outside wearing short shorts in the summertime when it’s stupid hot outside? If you’re lingering outside the diner too long waiting for your ride to come? If you accidentally spill stuff out of your purse at the bus stop and a condom falls out? You, too, may be mistaken for a hooker!
Obviously, this is an incredibly sexist, outdated and, frankly, ineffective law. Without witnessing you actually trying to strike a deal (“Hey, want a handjob for a buck-fifty? I forgot my wallet and really want Arby’s!”), this law basically legalizes profiling and makes slut shaming–even if, in a cop’s opinion, someone just “looks like a slut”–okay. And there is absolutely nothing okay about that.
Just because you have a condom doesn’t mean you’re a prostitute, a slut, or anything else of which you should be ashamed, let alone arrested. If you have a condom on you, it means you’re sexually responsible. If you have a condom on you, it means you’re protecting yourself against pregnancy, STDs and STIs. If you have a condom on you, it means you’re looking out for yourself and others. In other words, it means you should be getting high-fived, not handcuffed.
Do you think people should be arrested for looking like they might be a prostitute? Do you think if you have a condom, it suggests you’re trying to be a prostitute? Do you think you’d ever be at risk of arrest just because you have a condom?
Read more: http://www.gurl.com/2013/03/06/have-a-condom/#ixzz2OFKs2SZc
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