Bill Would Make Prostitution Advertisements a Crime:

Texas State Representative Jose Manuel Lozano recently introduced a bill to the Texas legislature that would make it a crime to buy advertising for prostitution. He nicknamed it the Backpage bill since it’s mostly focused on the always dubious Backpage.com.

In a hearing before the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Lozano used his iPad to demonstrate the current advertising on Backpage.com. He read an ad offering the services of a “young, hot, freaky, addicting, petite young Latina.”

His proposal would make it a felony to buy such advertising and might press Backpage.com to get out of the business.

I get the feeling the young Latina in question was not advertising her services as a math tutor.

While admire Representative Lozano’s intentions so far all state laws designed to curtail sex trafficking on Backpage have failed under judicial challenge. I haven’t heard much about Rep. Lozano’s bill but I don’t have much hope for it. While I look forward to a day when Backpage no longer deals in human trafficking I have yet to hear of any legislation that has the magic words that would allow it to survive challenge. Unfortunately I doubt this bill has it either.