Solicitation of Prostitution Under the Old Texas Law

Many voices are commending the State of Texas for passing this landmark legislation. The idea to focus felony punishment on any individual who is purchasing sex is seen by some as a way to combat sex abuse and human trafficking in this country. Explains National Center on Sexual Exploitation CEO Dawn Hawkins:

This is why it is imperative to shrink the commercial sex trade, and the most efficient way to do that, which would solve sex trafficking and so many other ills, is to go after the people driving the demand for exploited persons

“Texas’ new law is a prime way to deter people from engaging in the sex trade and will decrease the demand for prostituted persons, ultimately shrinking the exploitation industry. We are grateful to Texas for implementing a strong solution to combat the demand and to hold men accountable….

“Despite claims that prostitution is a job like any other, the truth is that there is lifelong physical, emotional, and mental trauma, from prostitution. ”

Johns were vulnerable to arrest in Texas before the passage of this new statute. Buying sex has been illegal here for many years, defined in the criminal code within the definition of prostitution found in Texas Penal Code §(a), (b) which defines the crime of prostitution as either (emphasis added):

(b) the person knowingly offers or agrees to pay a fee to another person for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with that person or another.

However, under Texas Penal Code §§ – , these offers to buy sex are considered to be misdemeanors, increasing to felony charges only if the accused has been convicted on at least three prior occasions; then the offense raises to a state jail felony. Read more

Billy Joel: The Ex-Wives and Former Fling Who Inspired His Hit Songs

The Piano Man has found a way to turn his heartbreak into chart-topping hits like “Uptown Girl” and “Just the Way You Are.”

“You can have all the money in the world, you can have mansions, you can have properties, you can have yachts, you can have limousines, you can have motorcycles,” Billy Joel told his official biographer Fred Schruers. But without love “it doesn’t mean a goddamn thing.”

Even though Joel has reached the upper echelons of status, wealth and celebrity, the singer admits that the one thing he struggles with is love. However, he was very good at spinning his heartache into chart-topping hits, and despite his romantic failures, Joel remains hopeful.

“You just need one – one person out of millions – to know and accept and love you for being, well, just the way you are,” he told Schruers. “I see old folks walking down the street who look like they’ve been together 50 years, and there’s something very touching about it – that they’ve lasted so long. Read more