FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            
Libertarian Party of Massachusetts

Jeff Lyons, Chairman

Phone: 617-286-3618

E-Mail: Chair@lpmass.org

Upon learning that Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots had been charged for soliciting prostitution in a massage parlor in Jupiter Florida, Jeff Lyons, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts issued the following statement:

"The Libertarian Party has always asserted that consenting adults should be able to exchange whatever goods and services they wish, so long as both parties willingly agree to the terms. It should be pointed out that had Robert Kraft been in Nevada, this would have been a legal activity.

"The Libertarian Party of Massachusetts believes that human sex trafficking is a serious crime, and the organizers of such crimes should be targeted, not consenting adults engaged in a commercial transaction.

"The government should not be seeking to restrict commerce, nor should it pass a moral judgement on consensual activities between adults. Assuming both parties in this case were adults and consenting, we call for the immediate dismissal of the misdemeanor charges against Bob Kraft and the decriminalization of prostitution, which we believe would deny human traffickers the ability to operate a black market. Until consensual sexual commerce is legalized, I fear these heinous acts will continue."
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The Libertarian Party platform includes the following plank:

2.10 Sex Work

The Libertarian Party supports the decriminalization of prostitution. We assert the right of consenting adults to provide sexual services to clients for compensation, and the right of clients to purchase sexual services from consenting sex workers.