By Lance Dwyer
Correspondent

SAN FRANCISCO — The November ballot will decide many important issues that for some San Francisco residents go far beyond having an Obama or McCain administration.Among the propositions that voters will decide on is one loaded with questions of morality: Proposition K, which refers to the enforcement of laws related to prostitution and sex workers.

Although Proposition K received two major opponents from the get-go,San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and District Atty. Kamala Harris, it has many supporters and we don’t mean the workers in the sex industry.

Among Proposition K’s supporters are the San Francisco Democratic Party, the Harvey Milk Democratic Club and the Coalition for Labor Union Women, in addition to dozens of other San Francisco organizations and public figures.Proposition K consists of seven sections, most notably section 4 which states “prostitution shall be decriminalized.”

One of the proposition’s main rationales it is the fact that in 1996 the city allocated $7.6 million toward prosecuting prostitution cases. In 2007, that number reached $11.4 million. In a time when the economy is clearly not at its strongest, Proposition K could allow millions of dollars to be freed up for other pressing areas.

Its supporters also argue that by decriminalizing prostitution, sex workers will be safer by not having to work on the “black market” and will also be able to better protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections and diseases.

Proposition K received a big boost in credibility when Jeffrey Klausner, M.D., president of the STD Controllers’ Association added his name to the list of endorsers.  Klausner believes that by decriminalizing prostitution, sex workers will feel more comfortable being honest with their physicians, which will in turn allow the treatment they receive to be more comprehensive. 
Many of the supporters argue that if a person has made the decision to be a sex worker then no crime is being committed and that law enforcement has helped create elements of violence that are associated with the industry.

But opponents argue that passing Proposition K would have a lasting impact on the culture of San Francisco and specifically the neighborhoods where sex work is most prominent, including the Tenderloin and Mission districts.

When interviewed for CNN, Kamala Harris, district attorney said, “Prostitution is not a victimless crime. It’s a crime that victimizes neighborhoods and plagues communities and compromises the quality of life of the people who live in those neighborhoods. This measure would prohibit us from putting public resources into helping those residents. And that’s not acceptable in this community.”In the FilAm community, support appears to be split with a generation divide.
Maria Rosales, mother of two, plans to vote No on Prop. K.

“I do worry that being able to see prostitutes legally standing on street corners will send the wrong message for my daughters,” said Rosales. “I think being exposed to that sort of lifestyle growing up can have an impact on how your values and morals develop.”Jaclyn Cardozo, 26, a new Bay Area resident, supports the idea of decriminalizing prostitution but has her reservations about some of the specifics of Proposition K.

“My main concern is that Proposition K will allow prostitution without regulation,” she said. “I don’t want to see them standing on street corners but rather in agencies. That might come with the passing of Proposition K but nothing is really stipulated in it like that.”

Elaine Kamlley of Filipinos for Affirmative Action, also supports the Proposition with her own reservations.
“I do believe that women have every right over their bodies and can use it however they choose, but should also recognize the mistreatment of their bodies of others and society,”

Kamlley added that if the money put toward prosecuting prostitution cases could be allocated towards social programs and health care for women who do end up doing sex work, then Proposition K could have a lasting impact on improving the quality of life for women in San Francisco. But she highly doubts this proposition will allow for that.

The portion of the Filipino population that will likely be most affected by Proposition K is the transgender population. The Prostitution Education Network estimates that 25 percent of the sex workers in San Francisco are transgender women.

Though there are currently no accurate numbers on how many of these women are Filipino, according to anecdotal sources from the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, immigrant transgender women often turn to sex work in order to make a living in the United States and to save up for hormones or sexual reassignment surgery.