By GABRIEL PARIENTE
In spite of the blazing heat, dozens of demonstrators gathered outside Brooklyn Federal Court on Thursday to protest the U.S. Attorney’s prosecution of seven staffers for their work on a male-escort website.
The chanting crowd expressed anger over the prosecution of the gay sex site Rentboy.com by U.S. Attorney Kelly Currie and the Department of Homeland Security.
“It’s a waste of money to use resources to put away sex workers for five years for really doing nothing illegal,” said Penelope Saunders, director of the Best Practices Policy Project. She added, “Prisons aren’t safe for anyone in the U.S as people are denied healthcare, put in solitary confinement and face numerous human rights abuses.”
Organizations like Queer Nation, Red Umbrella Project and the LGBTG National Task Force participated in the rally, which included local citizens and several onlookers.
Late last month Homeland Security agents in co-operation with New York City police raided Rentboy.com offices near Union Square, arresting seven persons on felony charges.
Protestors called on the federal government to focus on crimes being committed on Wall Street, arguing that everyone had the right to use their own body however they chose. The arrests have been condemned by numerous organizations including the ACLU, the Human Rights Watch, the New York Times Editorial board and, just recently, Amnesty International.
“ The tide is turning in the fight as many groups and individuals are coming out against this injustice,” said Bill Dobbs, a long-time gay rights activist and civil libertarian. He noted that around 5,000 johns are arrested every year, though the average is hard to figure out as the statistics stopped being recorded under the Bloomberg administration.
A spokesman for Currie’s office declined to comment on the protest.
“Someone engaging in consensual sex should not be labeled as a criminal,” said Skylar, who identified herself as a nineteen- year-old sex worker.
She added, “those labeled as criminals are unable to get jobs in corporate America and can not make a living off the minimum wage to support our families.”
Her sentiments were echoed by Janice Thom, director of operations for the National LGBTQ Task force.
“Every worker has a right to basic dignity and sex workers are no different,” she said.
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