POLITICS
McGuire, Yang Spar Over Sex Work Decriminalization
Yang’s comments about decriminalization prompt attack from rival
BY MATT TRACY
The topic of sex work decriminalization
resurfaced
in the mayoral
race on May 12 when
Ray McGuire responded to Andrew
Yang’s comments about the issue
by slamming him for supporting
full decriminalization — even
though it is not clear that Yang
actually supports comprehensive
decriminalization.
As the dramatic scene unfolded
on May 12, the Yang campaign
then fi red back, accusing McGuire
of wanting to put sex workers behind
bars.
During Freedom Agenda’s forum
on closing Rikers Island, Yang expressed
his commitment “to decriminalizing
sex crimes,” though he subsequently
clarifi ed in a tweet that,
as mayor, he would “decriminalize
sex work” — despite the fact that the
state, not the mayor, controls sex
work decriminalization laws.
In response to Yang’s comments,
McGuire slammed his rival for
making “a misguided attempt to be
the loudest voice in the room” and
accused Yang of supporting “decriminalizing
all facets of sex work,
including the recruitment and potential
traffi cking of sex workers.”
McGuire further ripped Yang,
saying the former presidential candidate
“is profoundly out of step
with our city.”
“I agree that we need a different
approach to helping sex workers,
who themselves are very often
victims of traffi cking and other
crimes… But I certainly do not
believe we should give a free pass
to those who exploit or profi t from
the sex trade industry, especially
when traffi cking women is so prevalent
in our city. Yang thinks that
brothels are New York’s road to recovery,”
McGuire said.
Yang, however, has not exactly
maintained a stable position on
sex work decriminalization. In a
tweet posted in December of 2019
— during his campaign for president
— Yang came out in favor of
partial decriminalization, saying
he believes “we should consider decriminalizing
Mayoral candidate Ray McGuire said his rival, Andrew Yang, “thinks that brothels are New York’s road
to recovery.”
sex work on the part
of the seller.” In the Jim Owles Liberal
Democratic Club’s questionnaire
for the mayoral race, Yang
had a very different position.
“Yes, I support decriminalizing
sex work,” Yang wrote. “I pledge to
oppose the Nordic model.” The Nordic
Model calls for the elimination
of penalties for sex workers only,
meaning that his response in that
questionnaire showed his explicit
support for full decriminalization.
Still, during public mayoral
campaign speeches, Yang has often
expressed general support for
decriminalizing sex work without
clarifying his specifi c stance, raising
questions about whether he is
in favor of full decriminalization.
The Yang campaign did not directly
respond to a question from Gay City
News asking whether Yang supports
full sex work decriminalization,
but Jake Sporn, Yang’s press
secretary, hit back at McGuire.
REUTERS/EDUARDO MUNOZ
“Ray spent his career on Wall
Street representing billionaires
like the Koch brothers who have
blocked gun control laws for decades,”
Sporn said in a statement
to Gay City News on May 12. “If
he actually cared about reducing
crime, Ray would be focused on issues
like curbing gun violence, not
putting sex workers in jail.”
While McGuire accused Yang of
being “out of step,” McGuire’s comments
were clearly out of step with
the movement to decriminalize
sex work. Sex work decriminalization
is a major queer issue in New
York, where LGBTQ activists have
spearheaded the push to comprehensively
remove criminal penalties
for those involved in the consensual
sex trade.
Contrary to McGuire’s points, advocates
have long stressed that full
decriminalization is the best way
to address traffi cking and would
reduce sex workers’ interactions
with the criminal justice system.
Sex workers have told stories about
peers or roommates being charged
as third parties or traffi ckers simply
because they assisted sex workers
in various ways. Many sex workers
who are undocumented immigrants
have also voiced fears that
criminalizing any side of the sex
trade can run the risk of unwanted
attention from law enforcement.
The community landed a key
victory earlier this year when advocates
successfully pushed state
lawmakers to repeal a discriminatory
loitering law known as a ban
on “Walking While Trans,” but folks
are still pushing for elected offi cials
in the state to pass a full decriminalization
bill called the “Stop Violence
in the Sex Trades Act,” which
was fi rst proposed in 2019.
TS Candii, who led the movement
to repeal the “Walking While
Trans” ban and has been a leading
activist in the effort to decriminalize
sex work, slammed McGuire
and Yang in response to their
back-and-forth over sex work. She
believes they have not done their
part to stand in support of sex
workers — and she was especially
frustrated with McGuire’s comments
about traffi cking.
“Individuals like Yang and
McGuire don’t know anything about
sex work,” she said in a phone interview
with Gay City News. “These
particular individuals do not have
experience in the community.”
While the state will determine the
fate of decriminalization, the city is
not entirely powerless. The mayor
has control over the NYPD’s approach
to sex work and Mayor Bill de
Blasio recently said he would direct
cops to avoid going after sex workers
— though he has faced criticism for
failing to gut the NYPD’s vice squad,
which has been shrouded in corruption
and has a reputation for harassing
sex workers and entrapping gay
men in adult establishments. Advocates
have pushed for years to hold
the Vice Squad accountable,
Yang said in the Jim Owles questionnaire
that he does indeed sup-
➤ DECRIM, continued on p.15
May 20 - June 2,14 2021 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
