Convicted "johns" could soon see their photos on Oakland billboards

[Ernesto]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Images of men convicted of soliciting prostitutes will soon be joining professional athletes and product placements on city billboards here.
"We're warning everyone: Next time, the image won't be blurred," City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente said at a news conference Wednesday, where city officials stood under a 10-by-22-foot billboard with the images of four convicted men intentionally blurred so they could not be recognized.

http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/12994176p-13840831c.html

[dogday]

1. Why are they expending so much time and money on something

that is so low on the crime scale. We could be spending time and resources on something more important than Johns, can't we?

[Pushed To The Left]

9. Those who support vice laws care more about controlling

people's lives than on solving real crime.

[sasquatch]

2. Hey, doesn't that violate campaign finance laws?

Oaklandites will be seeing more of the "Khristian Koalition" and other "Moral Highgrounders".

[cestpaspossible]

3. Maybe these guys'll start wearing jackets with sponsorship logos

like the race drivers ... 'Team Trojan'

[davidinalameda]

4. kewl!

I think they should do this

especially if there are children involved

that just sickens me

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. They will do this until somebody on the city council/ relative gets caught

then all of sudden it won't be a good idea anymore. What the hell is this puritan New England, complete with public stocks?

[Warpy]

6. Good, maybe there will be enough of a ruckus raised

to legalize it, regulate it, and give sex workers some of the respect they deserve.

A good whore isn't just an orifice. It's a business like any other, and a good whore knows how to fulfill fantasies that wives and mothers may not be interested in and do it safely. Right now it's a dirty and dangerous business because the illegality means there are no protections in place, both in terms of health and safety.

If they weren't fulfilling a real need, there would be no business. It's time to stop kidding ourselves and license them.

[xchrom]

7. that's lunacy -- geez --

shall we burn witches again?

[eternalburn]

8. Modern-day stocks in the town square (nt)