"Sex Offender" on Driver's License

[Magdalene]

At my job today I had to card a woman and on her driver's license it said in big, orange letters, "SEX OFFENDER". I don't know how long this has been going on, but apparently now when they put you as a sex offender in Louisiana (which they do to prostitutes as well, not just child molesters and other actual threats) they stick it on your license as well. It really disturbed me to find this out, obviously.

"The Louisiana driver's license (regardless of its class) and/or Identification card issued to any person who is required to register as a sex offender, pursuant to R.S. 15:542 and R.S. 15:542.1, shall contain a restriction code which declares that the license holder is a sex offender. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall comply with the provisions of this Subsection and the driver's license / ID card shall include the words "sex offender" which shall be orange in color."

-- From Louisiana.gov

I don't know what you guys think about this, but this bothers me a LOT. I'm very pro-sex workers and not only do I have a huge problem with prostitutes being on the Sex Offenders list to begin with, but to stick it in huge, orange letters on their ID's? That's just wrong. It's not only an invasion of privacy, to me it's the modern day version of the scarlet letter.

Anyway, just curious as to what others think about this.

[OrganizedKhaos]

I really dont know what to say given recent posts of mine that involves ***sex offenders****..... but really, All I got to say is, I dont know the whole story.


...dont hold it agianst me.

[Amelia G]

Wow, Magdalene, that's crazy. It seems like it really defeats the whole purpose when they lump everything in together like that. An adult who does terrible things to a little kid is NOT the same thing as a sex worker or an eighteen-year-old who has sex with a fifteen-year-old. It is not just that labeling prostitutes, like in your example, as sex offenders is unfair to the prostitutes, but it means that, even if you agree with the label idea, the label becomes meaningless and unhelpful to people who want to protect their children. That's not even getting into the known statistic that most awful cases happen with someone the child knows.

[Morning Glory]

yeah, I don't really agree to that. I mean I know that the justice system doesn't work, but this seems like they are publicly acknowledging it. the line goes that you do the crime, you do the time, you take your punishment and you pay your debt to society. The whole notion of the sex offender status is that basically the person is still a danger to the community and imprisoning them was pointless, so in effect prisons and the entire justice system is pointless since they don't do what they are supposed to, which is keep dangerous people out of the community.

But ultimately I don't like the idea that the government is classifying people and that they hold the right to decide who can and can't be a member of society beyond the public sphere of influence. Maybe it is legit scumbags today, and yeah we all hate child molesters... but who's to say how far it should go? maybe tomorrow it's going to be people that got busted for pot, after all they are criminals too. and how about environmentalists? the feds are already cracking down on them, they deem vandalism to be domestic terrorism, and a crime worse than murder because murder is just one asshole hating another, but it's not politically motivated and challenging the status quo. and so let';s continue on those lines. maybe next it's people who protest and finally anyone who voices a dissenting opinion. They did it to people just for being Japanese ethnicity during WWII. that's the danger when you start segregating people based on "decency standards" and you gotta question who's standard of right and wrong are we going on here?

Remember that the Nazis made everyone wear name badges to identify what government-classified group they belonged to, and they used the exact same bullshit reasoning that we do for all these fascist intrusions on liberty and personal privacy, "It's for your protection".

[Amelia G]

yeah, I don't really agree to that. I mean I know that the justice system doesn't work, but this seems like they are publicly acknowledging it. the line goes that you do the crime, you do the time, you take your punishment and you pay your debt to society. The whole notion of the sex offender status is that basically the person is still a danger to the community and imprisoning them was pointless, so in effect prisons and the entire justice system is pointless since they don't do what they are supposed to, which is keep dangerous people out of the community.

But ultimately I don't like the idea that the government is classifying people and that they hold the right to decide who can and can't be a member of society beyond the public sphere of influence. Maybe it is legit scumbags today, and yeah we all hate child molesters... but who's to say how far it should go? maybe tomorrow it's going to be people that got busted for pot, after all they are criminals too. and how about environmentalists? the feds are already cracking down on them, they deem vandalism to be domestic terrorism, and a crime worse than murder because murder is just one asshole hating another, but it's not politically motivated and challenging the status quo. and so let';s continue on those lines. maybe next it's people who protest and finally anyone who voices a dissenting opinion. They did it to people just for being Japanese ethnicity during WWII. that's the danger when you start segregating people based on "decency standards" and you gotta question who's standard of right and wrong are we going on here?

Remember that the Nazis made everyone wear name badges to identify what government-classified group they belonged to, and they used the exact same bullshit reasoning that we do for all these fascist intrusions on liberty and personal privacy, "It's for your protection".

I think the notion that felons can't vote in this country is really against what America is supposed to mean. I didn't even know that was the case until a few years ago and still don't know when or how that got imposed.

[Solace_in_the_snow]

They are trying to do that in Alaska and I think that if they are gonna do it they need to make sex working legal and revise the statatory **** laws. And if a 16 year old has sex with a 15 year old here it's consider sexual molestation of a minor I got charged when I was being an idiot. The case was dropped so I have a clean record.

[SyntheticShock]

I agree, that not everyone that gets put into a "sex offender" category is a real threat.

In my opinion, I think that IF prostitution was a legal business in America the government could control it better. I mean there is a demand for prostitutes, and there are people willing to pay for sex, so why not? At least that way maybe they can be in a clean, safe enviroment. Try to practice safer sex methods, control STDs, HIV, drugs, and such by testing them and the clients thouroughly on a regular basis. Granted I know there are some flaws in the idea, but I think it would be worth a try.

Just my thoughts about it anyway.

[Cafe_Post_Mortem]

The reason they pick sex offenders for this sort of thing is that they are an easy target. No public support because, in the minds of the people sex offenders are all kiddie rapists. There was an attempt to put markers on the license plates of drunk drivers, another easy target.

Felons have enough hurdled for re entering society. If you put sex offender on a prostitutes license, what choice do you leave her but to return to prostitution? She is now tagger for life and very unlikely to get a legal job. If you can't get a legal job, that leaves illegal work.

I also agree with amelia. Once a felon is out of jail, they should be allowed to vote. What real justification is there against it? They should not have to file special papers, they should not have to be pardoned. They should be able to register and vote like everyone else. If you are afraid felons will make a substantial voting block in your community, something has gone wrong already.

[Magdalene]

The reason they pick sex offenders for this sort of thing is that they are an easy target. No public support because, in the minds of the people sex offenders are all kiddie rapists. There was an attempt to put markers on the license plates of drunk drivers, another easy target.

You're absolutely right. The majority don't give a shit about these people because the government has lumped them all into one category -- The eighteen year old who has sex with his sixteen year old girlfriend, the prostitute, and the streaker are all in the same category as the date rapist, the child molester, and so on.

And then there's the issue of prostitutes specifically -- the majority of society sees them in one of two ways: 1) The religious view that they are nasty sinners, 2) The Dworkin view that they are all helpless "victims" who are stupid and can't think for themselves. And then there is the stereotype that they're all nasty whores with a bunch of diseases and drug problems.

Let's face it, the majority of society doesn't want to help people who they think are morally incorrect, have STI's, or have drug/alcohol problems. They see these people as "beneath" them. Even though these are just stereotypes and hardly fit the majority of prostitutes. (Roughly 20% are streetwalkers, according to http://www.bayswan.org/stats.html )

Prostitution DOES need to be legalized. To tell you the truth, the only thing that's kept me from taking up an escort job is the fact that it's illegal. And now that I'm going to have a kid, not only would I have the "Sex Offender" stigma attached to myself, but I'd risk losing my kid.

It really irks me when people say that prostitution is illegal because they are "protecting" women. The majority of prostitutes in America today were NOT coerced into the business. That means that these people are trying to protect women from themselves. Which means they think women can't think for themselves, or make their own lifestyle decisions.

[Mr Karl]

I'll never understand why prostitution ever became illegal

[Morning Glory]

I think that prostitution and drugs need to be decriminalized, not legalized. I don't really think giving more control of the things we do into the hands of big business is going to help. The prison industry was fairly recently opened to private companies to manage, and look how that went. Now it's even more imperative to cram as many people into jail for any reason, because they have to get back their investments on building the things. also the government are the one's that fucked it up in the first place, so you know that if they are running it they are going to screw it up even more.

no, just stop arresting people for victimless crimes, and Hey you might be surprised all the free time it opens up so maybe we really can find something to do about the real dangerous assholes.

[Magdalene]

I think that prostitution and drugs need to be decriminalized, not legalized. I don't really think giving more control of the things we do into the hands of big business is going to help. The prison industry was fairly recently opened to private companies to manage, and look how that went. Now it's even more imperative to cram as many people into jail for any reason, because they have to get back their investments on building the things. also the government are the one's that fucked it up in the first place, so you know that if they are running it they are going to screw it up even more.

no, just stop arresting people for victimless crimes, and Hey you might be surprised all the free time it opens up so maybe we really can find something to do about the real dangerous assholes.

The whole decriminalized vs. legalized has always confused me. For the longest time, I thought they meant the same thing. I guess it's just the wording that confuses me. I know Wendy McElroy's book on sex work explained that basically to decriminalize prostitution would mean it would be the same as any other job, like sales clerk and the like. But does that mean that being a sales clerk isn't legal? (I know it doesn't, I'm just trying to point out my confusion.) It confuses the hell out of me.

I've heard that the prostitutes in Nevada have all kinds of crazy rules tacked onto them because of the job they have, which makes no sense to me. I don't want the government to control them; I just don't want them to arrest and demoralize them. Which I know means I want it decriminalized, not legalized. The terminology just gets me, every time.

[helcyon]

I'll never understand why prostitution ever became illegal

Prostitution is legal here and it's no biggie. The sky has not fallen in and the social fabric is no more retarded than ever... probably somewhat less I'd say. I don't really know the laws but it's regulated and not allowed near schools or just ad-hoc on the corner I think... not that stops anyone... ever tried to stop anyone doing anything? Usually a futile exercise anyway. This issue is not even on the radar here. It's just a fairly normal thing and everyone knows people who are involved in the industry in one way or another as sex-workers, support staff and services, patrons woteva. The main reasons I have not personally availed myself of these nice and nasty nooky knock-shops are that I'm too cheap, shy and lazy even though there are plenty of brothels nearby. I guess I've got all that to look forward to.

As far as I'm concerned tattooing a scarlet letter onto someone's ID for fucking for bucks is utterly retarded. (by the way I couldn't even finish reading that book at school even though I was obliged to... it sucks heavily). My opinion is that it shouldn't be done for any other crime at all either.

Last year there was a stupid APEC summit here which was annoying and inconvenient. The overkill on security was ridiculous... like who could even be bothered trying to kill poor old G Bush Jr. (G Bush Sr. is a better candidate for liquidation mainly because he is a humourless bore unlike Jr who I think is amusing and cuddly). It was only ok in that I got a day off because the Central Business District was pathetically locked down (and not very well either haha you gotta watch this 3 minute vid ). Anyway the brothels were as pleased as punch - no day off for them... they put extra staff on to cater for the toey overseas dignitaries who excitedly booked them out weeks ahead in gleeful anticipation. They came up with specially concocted options like The Presedential Platter and The United Nations hahaha oh man. I wish they still had these goodies on offer... I'd probably get over myself and sprint up there. Why didn't I when I had the chance? I'm clearly a complete idiot. you knew that.

[Bikerpunk]

If you don't want the scarlet letter on your driver's license, don't be a rapist or kiddy diddler.

[helcyon]

If you don't want the scarlet letter on your driver's license, don't be a rapist or kiddy diddler.

yeah possibly... it's not quite death row or chopping off of a hand or anything but in the same way as capital punishment you'd be annoyed at best if the system amazingly got it wrong and wrongly convicted. but that never happens right?

actual serious rapists and rock-spiders can be put to death by me if necessary... no qualms. and they can have a red target tattooed on their graves so you know where to piss. including milli-vanilli.

[Morning Glory]

legalized generally means that it is either controlled by the government directly as a state business, such as waste management, or that it's subject to bureaucratic red tape like the sale of alcohol. while it is legal, meaning you wont go to jail for it, there are tons of restrictions and conditions that you have to follow to sell it. Can you imagine? it'll be the ATFS. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire-arms, and Sex.

decriminalized generally means that they will make less of a severe punishment for it, such as maybe paying a fine, instead of serving time in jail. Or else it can mean, and this is more along the lines of what I'm advocating, that the justice dpt. just sort of agrees to look the other way and doesn't bother to prosecute people for it because they understand it's a waste of time and resources. There are a few places where that have done that with weed. if you get busted for whatever, some small amount that they've constituted as "personal use", then you won't get arrested. but you will still get arrested for heavy trafficking or dealing.

[Magdalene]

Can you imagine? it'll be the ATFS. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire-arms, and Sex.

Ouch. That's a scary thought.

decriminalized generally means that they will make less of a severe punishment for it, such as maybe paying a fine, instead of serving time in jail. Or else it can mean, and this is more along the lines of what I'm advocating, that the justice dpt. just sort of agrees to look the other way and doesn't bother to prosecute people for it because they understand it's a waste of time and resources. There are a few places where that have done that with weed. if you get busted for whatever, some small amount that they've constituted as "personal use", then you won't get arrested. but you will still get arrested for heavy trafficking or dealing.

I just don't understand why we couldn't have punishments at ALL for it. I don't know much about how other countries do it, but I think the best option would be for it to just be legal in the sense that it's just a regular ol' job and no one bothers anyone else about it, no fines etc. But that's obviously a dream that I doubt will come true anytime in the near future.

[Morning Glory]

because someones always gotta have their hand in the honey pot, if you catch my meaning. The idea of just leaving shit alone and letting it work itself out is like silver bullets to people in suits.

[Magdalene]

Exactly. That's why I said I doubt it'll come true anytime in the near future. There's a reason they are where they are...they know how to control people and how to keep real change from happening.

[Velvet-Tongue]

Im not a fan of this. Like Amelia said, a sex offender could be anything from a sick fuck who diddles babies to an 18 year old kid who has sex with his 16 year old girlfriend. Branding someone for life like that ruins them completely.

Blanket statements gotta go. If they really need to publicly shame people do it for the worst.

[Cafe_Post_Mortem]

The problem is, there is always someone who pushes what the worst is.

To someone the 18 year old who sleeps with the 16 year old, the prostitute, and the flasher are all as bad as the baby rapist. I hate to use a slippery slope arguement, but once you decide one group does not deserve the minimal basic human rights, it is easy to add others to that group. Once it is ok to tag child molesters and kick them out of town, why not throw hookers and perverts on there?

[athenahollow]

What this is going to do is make it more aware of SOs.... which is good if they are truly SOs, otherwise it just hurts the people.... no one wants their kids around one PERIOD reguardless of the situation.

I had a friend go to PRISON, you heard me PRISON, for 2 years, all because when he was 17 he pucker kissed his15 year old g/f that he met at the Y.... her parents pressed charges, and he's been labeled for life... it's fucking rediculous.

[kellie]

Wow, that is really horrible.
When I was 19, my 16 year old neighbor stole my drivers license, and married a 20 year old in my name. He ended up in prison because of it, and is now labeled a sex offender.
I wish the term sex offender would only be used in legit cases, like violence and crimes against children.

[Morning Glory]

yeah, she stole your identity, and he went to prison. fucked up justice system.

[helcyon]

pathetically locked down (and not very well either haha you gotta watch this 3 minute vid

all charges dropped yesterday with the blame being put on the police hahaha oh man

[Thistle Harlequin]

wow, that sucks.. I guess stick one on mine, not cuz I molest lil' kids(I don't) but I've made a penny or two here (with adults) and there..heh

Not cool!