Dem Candidate Amy Klobuchar a Firm No on Decriminalizing Sex Work

Even as four Democratic presidential candidates have endorsed the decriminalization of sex work, with others—including top contender Elizabeth Warren—expressing “openness” on the issue, one candidate says she remains strongly opposed to the measure.  During last week’s CNN town hall on LGBTQ issues, when Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar was asked directly whether she supported sex work decriminalization, she shot down the question. “I am not in favor of decriminalizing all of sex work,” Klobuchar said. “I’m concerned about the effect that’s gonna have on young women and violence against women.” Her answer came in response to a question from Ryan Basham, who identified himself as “vice president of the Stonewall Democratic Club, which is the nation’s oldest LGBTQ feminist and progressive political group.” As AVN.com has reported, California Senator Kamala Harris and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker have said they support decriminalizing sex work, as has Hawaii congressional rep Tulsi Gabbard. In addition to Warren’s statement of “openness” on the issue, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders recently said that he still needs more time to “discuss” whether or not sex work should be decriminalized. But Klobuchar, who Reason magazine said was “behind some of the worst sex-work-related legislation in Congress over the past few years,” has not nudged—though she did tell Basham that she would like to “see how we can find common ground going forward,” on the issue. Klobuchar said at the town hall that she has spearheaded legislation that includes “safe harbor” provisions that would protect sex trafficking victims from prosecution. All of the current candidates who were serving in Congress during 2018 voted in favor of the FOSTA/SESTA law that sex workers say has made their jobs more dangerous by forcing them offline and underground. Photo by Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons