ALBANY, N.Y. — Republican New York Assembly Member Brian Maher has introduced a bill to prohibit the use of the term "sex work" in government documents.
The bill, AB 7008, would amend Section 69 of the general construction law to prohibit "the use of the term 'sex work' and certain variations of such term in the law or any rule, regulation or resolution."
The variations include "sex worker," "sex-work" and "sex-worker."
"I cannot count how many times I have used terms like 'ridiculous,' 'incomprehensible' or 'naive' when describing some of the proposed laws that I have reviewed during my 20-year legal career," said industry attorney Corey D. Silverstein. "I don't remember ever using the word 'stupid,' but that is the only word that comes to mind when reading Mr. Maher's proposed revision to Section 69."
Silverstein also told XBIZ that direct challenges to constitutional protections by elected officials should be grounds for removal.
"This level of ignorance of the First Amendment and free speech is so outlandish that it warrants expulsion from governance," he said.
Mike Stabile, director of public policy for the Free Speech Coalition, noted the timing of the legislation following a recent lobbying effort by New York sex workers to pass a rights bill.
"I don't expect it's a coincidence that this bill was introduced just a few weeks after sex workers showed up en masse in Albany to lobby for rights," he said. "They want to kneecap the movement by banning legislators' ability to talk about them — or forcing them to talk about them in criminalized terms.
"I suspect legislators like Maher put these bills forth hoping to look big," he continued. "But to me, censorship always ends up making you look small and scared, like you can't compete in the marketplace of ideas. It's a petty and pointless bill that paradoxically shows the growing power of sex workers."