Carrying Condoms Does Not Make You a Prostitute

Carrying condoms does not make you a prostitute, at least according to Judge Richard Weinberg of New York City's Midtown Community Court who ruled in favor of a 25-year-old woman who had been (wrongfully) arrested on charges of “loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense” in May. So, what kind of outrageous behavior got the young lady gaffled, you might ask? Aside from having condoms in her bag, the police officer who arrested her said she was “engaging in conversation” with two men in an area “frequented by prostitution.” Oh yes, asking folks for directions when you're lost on Hooker Street is positively scandalous.

Let me be clear: I'm not opposed to sex work, nor do I think being mistaken for a prostitute is something to feel ashamed about. There's been a lot of discussion on the Interwebs about cases that have come up in New York and San Francisco where condoms have been entered as evidence of one's engagement in the world's oldest profession — with other "just cause," of course. And I think it's pretty darn ridiculous that people are getting picked up by the cops for exhibiting responsible safer sex behaviors, even more so if one does pay their bills by renting their goods in exchange for cash because it's just smart business to protect all the merchandise.

Apparently New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Assemblywoman Barbara Clark agree because the two women have sponsored a bill in Albany, (S.2189/A.3856), stipulating that "possession of a condom may not be received in evidence in any trial, hearing or proceeding as evidence of prostitution, patronizing a prostitute, promoting prostitution, permitting prostitution, maintaining a premises for prostitution, lewdness or assignation, or maintaining a bawdy house.” (A bawdy house? I love that!) The bill's rationale is that the current law hinders public health by discouraging prostitutes from carrying condoms.

Fighting this battle on another front is Legal Aid attorney Kate Mogulescu, who views the justifications given for arrests as "arbitrary" and "discriminatory." "A lot of my clients are really confused as to what they were actually arrested for," she told The Crime Report. One such client, a 21-year-old transwoman, was tossed in the back of a police car after declining a ride from a cab.

Mogulescu says, "These arrests are in danger of criminalizing constitutionally protected behavior. They’re set up to be immune from scrutiny and, traditionally, they’ve been unchallenged."

Until now, that is.

Photo credit: RecycledStarDust