I am going to talk about something that I know many many of my readers will not agree with me on, but that is okay.
Please read all of this and then feel free to give your thoughts and opinions in the comments.I know many people enjoy talking about the
evils of Prostitution and I agree. I would never want one of my kids to be a prostitute. I believe sex is a beautiful thing between a husband and a wife. That being said, I am about to say something that will probably shock everyone reading this. I do
not believe that Prostitution should be
illegal.
Why?
Well, to be honest, I don't think that it should be an issue that the government has it's hands in. The government has put it's hands into way too many things that it really shouldn't have it's hands in. Prostitution is one of those things. In the United States, each state has the power to decide whether or not prostitution is legal in that state or part of that state. In all but two U.S. states (Nevada and Rhode Island), the buying and selling of sexual services is illegal and usually classified as a misdemeanor.
Prosecuting Prostitutes has become a way for states to make money. Another way they could do this is by allowing legal Prostitution and just taxing them like the Bunny Ranch.
Originally, prostitution was widely
legal in the United States. Prostitution was made illegal in almost all states between 1910 and 1915 largely due to the influence of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union which was influential in the banning of drug use and was a major force in the prohibition of alcohol.
Before that in many parts of the United States Brothels were common. Over 200 brothels existed in lower Manhattan. Brothels are establishments specifically dedicated to prostitution. Other names for brothels include bordello, whorehouse, cathouse, and knocking shop. Prostitution also occurs in some massage parlors, and in Asian countries in some barber shops where sexual services may be offered as a secondary function of the premises.
Basically, prostitution has been and will continue to permeate society, thrive in it, and women will continue to use their bodies as a means to feed themselves.
Are we all agreed on that? So why not legalize it, if we know it exists already?
Prostitution has been in existence for hundreds and hundreds of years, going back to the Byzantine, Roman, Greek, and Egyptian Empires. Prostitution is not about to disappear anytime soon, despite relatively recent local laws.Ted Arthur Haggard was leader of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). He resigned or was removed after he admitted soliciting prostitute Mike Jones for homosexual sex and methamphetamine.
Edward Nottingham was the former chief federal judge of Colorado. In August 2007, Nottingham was exposed as having spent $3,000 at a strip club in 2005. His ex-wife found the credit card receipt and it, and related purchases, became public knowledge through his divorce proceedings. In October 2008, Nottingham resigned after a prostitute filed an affidavit with the 10th Circuit claiming that she asked him to lie to 10th Circuit investigators about their weekly illegal sex sales from February 2003 through November 2004. Despite this, he is a lawyer in private practice in good standing in Colorado.
Louisiana Senator David Vitter was identified as a client of "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey's prostitution service in Washington, D.C. He is an outspoken conservative.
Making prostitution legal would allow the act to be managed instead of ignored.
Look at all the problems that occurred when Alcohol was illegal. Home producers created whiskey and bathtub gin. The price of alcohol skyrocketed in black market sales due to heavy demand and the greedy public officials who secretly monitored it.
The government lost considerable amounts of tax dollars from bootlegged alcohol and it became impossible to regulate the quality and safety of the product. It was thought prohibition would put an end to many social problems but it actually created many more. Increasing the number of laws runs a risk of creating more criminals, and that is exactly what had happened. Jails became filled.
If we allow prostitution to remain hidden from view and basically invisible to the law as it is today, we allow a number of teens to be swept up into prostitution every year.
When adult women decide to exchange money for sex, it is a personal choice open to them under the philosophy of a free, democratic society. When troubled minors who do not yet have the social survival skills decide to prostitute, they are often manipulated by opportunists who exploit these teens, typically leading to horrific ends. Legalizing prostitution will help prevent these instances through regulation.
Legalized, regulated prostitution has many benefits. Encounters can happen within controlled environments that bring about safety for both the customers and the prostitutes. Prostitutes would no longer be strong-armed by pimps or organized crime rings. Underage prostitution would be curtailed. There would also be health-safety improvements.
Why is the government deciding what is ok for two consenting adults in privacy?There are many benefits to legalized prostitution.
The benefits include
(1) allowing law enforcement agencies to respond to more important crimes,
(2) freeing justice systems from nuisance cases,
(3) helping women who are trapped by prostitution,
(4) preventing teens from being ensnared into prostitution (If prostitution was legal then it would be easier (but not impossible) to keep under 18s out of it.)
(5) stopping some of the HIV spread (there could be Prostitutes who are HIV positive who could service clients who are HIV positive).
What are your thoughts?
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Comments (21)
actually i'm not sure how i feel about this because i think it drags in religion, law, freedom, etc.
I've had this conversation with someone already & I see your point about being able to tax & regulate prostitution but what about what it leads to? If we legalize prostitution as a country & not individual states then what else is going to happen? The sky would be the limit. Legalize meth? Go ahead! & What about human trafficking? With prositution legalized it would be easier for organizations to kidnap women & girls & traffic them for sex since prostitution would be legal. It would be harder to catch them with women who have been taken against their will & then to prosecute them. The women would have to prove they actually didn't want any part in the business what so ever.
Also, if we have a whole bunch of prostitutes legally roaming the streets [& now they can roam any street] who are they going to attract? Druggies? Sex offenders? Murders? I know the average Joe can come by too but do I really want to be around those people? Have my future children playing at a park where a prostitute waits for a client? Not really.
You can't control everything. I don't believe it would be easier to help women stuck in prostitution crime rings & I don't believe it would stop underage prostitution. It would just open so many more doors & windows for them to able to do it in the first place.
I actually live in Nevada, one of the two states where it's legal. I don't see brothels everywhere, I don't see women standing on the street corner calling to men in cars. I'd like to keep it that way. We have enough nudity & strip clubs as it is. For the safety of myself & the children I plan on having I wouldn't go for it.
Prostitution supports the oppression of women as sex commodities.
I tend to agree with you. But again, like someone else stated, what kinds of things are going to be legalized that we won't be ok with?
Why is this on Tripcrazed? Are you encouraging folks to visit places where prostitution is legal?
prostitution is just "illegal" on the books to make all of you incapable parents believe that the government is protecting your child.
@cutesycharm@xanga - That.
and
Male prostitutes also exist, as well.
@Tenauri_Kayne@xanga - Doesn't your last paragraph refute everything you wrote previously?
It's impossible to enforce laws against victimless crimes. When two consenting adults engage in an activity, no matter how revolting it may be to others, it should not be a crime. History has proven that legislating morality is a hopeless endeavor. All the government should to do is protect us from each other, not ourselves.
I heartily reccommend Ain't Nobody's Business if You Do - The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country, by the late Peter McWilliams.
@Tenauri_Kayne@xanga - I don't understand. Since you live in Nevada (I'm assuming near Sin City?) where prostitution is legal and you don't see the problems that you mentioned, then what makes you think other places would be like that?
Plus, I believe human trafficking would be decreased if prostitution was legalized. There would be no shortage of supply to the demand, which is what incentivizes this crime in the first place.
@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga - does Broadway support the oppression of people as entertainment commodities?
@jzrocker@xanga - That was the worst attempt at an analogy I've ever heard.
@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga - regardless, just as some strippers really enjoy what they do and are proud to call themselves exotic dancers, prostitutes can like their job too. Geishas were prostitutes too, but they were highly respected. Sure some very FEW women are forced to be prostitutes against their will, but really, that's a very very small percentage. Nobody's holding a gun to your head saying, you have to be a prostitute, you absolutely cannot clean, file, take orders, or clean dishes to earn money instead.
Michael Jackson was forced to be a street performer as a kid, was that exploiting his body as well?
@jzrocker@xanga - This is about prostitutes, not strippers. Geishas were not prostitutes, traditionally.
I think this is a really tough call to make...
There are two feminist perspectives one could take on this issue:
1) Prostitution objectifies women and makes them only sex objects.
2) Why hold back a woman if she wants to be a prostitute? Women are sexual beings and, if they chose to, should be able to capitalize on whatever profession they wish to. Though there are males involved in prostitution, the vast majority of prostitues are female. So is it just another way to keep women from making money?
I tend to agree more with the first, though I can see logical points in the second. I agree that maybe this shouldn't be something the government decides, but I can't agree with the concept of prostitution. I know that I would never want my boyfriend or father or brother to legally visit a prostitute nor would I want a female relative to work as a prostitute. I doubt it will ever be legalized since it has such a negative connotation and it brings up too many religious arguments.
Totally disagree prostitutes to be legalized all over the world
@judyrutrider@xanga - No, it doesn't because it's only legal in certain county's. In the actual city of Las Vegas, prostitution is illegal. In Parumph which is only about an hour away, it isn't.
@jzrocker@xanga - I live in Las Vegas. Right in Sin City. It is illegal to prositute yourself in Las Vegas. Now, in Parumph which is about an hour away, it's not illegal. Different county's mean different laws for Nevada. Reno is completely different from Las Vegas but we're both in Nevada. If it's legalized for the entire state, yes, I expect to see a difference.
Crime mobs traffick women to be able to control them & get money out of them. They would be going out of business if this law is passed because these women would then be answering to the government & not "pimps" or whatever you want to call them. That's going to piss them off. They want their money & they'll get it any way they can.
@Tenauri_Kayne@xanga - Okay, let me make sure I understand this. Prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas and there, one does not see any evidence of the activity because it is strictly controlled by the mob. In Parumph, where it is legal, brothels proliferate and the government can't protect sex workers because the mob is too powerful. You believe prostitution should remain illegal so the mob doesn't lose its market share and get pissed off.
Your argument that with legalized prostitution one would find hookers hanging around school yards, looking for clients, would imply that children are a lucrative market.
Who would they attract? Druggies? Doubtful, as druggies are looking for drugs. However, illegal activities do hang together; so forcing consenting adults to engage in an illegal activity does put them into that milieu. Sex offenders? Maybe, but certainly not pedophiles, as a regulated sex industry would not permit child labor. Mainly they would attract people who want to knock off a quick one without attracting any attention to themselves.
So, because this activity is repugnant to your sensibilities, let's keep it illegal so the sex workers don't have to contribute taxes, like the rest of us morally upright citizens do, AND so the mob can make a living.
I think you might enjoy reading Peter McWilliams' book, Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do, if you can open your mind long enough to enjoy his pragmatism. You might not agree with him but it would certainly prepare you to better argue your own opinions.
@judyrutrider@xanga - Okay, let me make sure I understand this. Prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas and there, one does not see any evidence of the activity because it is strictly controlled by the mob. In Parumph, where it is legal, brothels proliferate and the government can't protect sex workers because the mob is too powerful. You believe prostitution should remain illegal so the mob doesn't lose its market share and get pissed off
- Actually I don't see evidence of this activity because I don't live near it & I'm not about to go searching for it. However, I have unfortunately rubbed elbows with people in the 'business'. Furthermore in Parumph I have seen brothels but I do not live there so I can't tell you about the mobs business, maybe you should ask Tony Soprano. Lets get real here, the crime organization example was just that, an example. One I branched off from the article. But it is a very real example. I believe prostitution should be illegal because it's not right. It's really not a way to earn an honest living & I don't believe in it. I also do believe it will open gate ways for that field of organized crime.
Your argument that with legalized prostitution one would find hookers hanging around school yards, looking for clients, would imply that children are a lucrative market.
- I said park, not schoolyard. Lets not get carried away now. & I didn't say looking for clients, I said meeting with a client. Prostitutes will have to meet with clients somewhere. Be it a motel, hotel, holiday inn or whatever. That's all I was saying about that. But it depends as to where these prostitutes attract people as to whether it will affect regular families day to day.
Who would they attract? Druggies? Doubtful, as druggies are looking for drugs. However, illegal activities do hang together; so forcing consenting adults to engage in an illegal activity does put them into that milieu. Sex offenders? Maybe, but certainly not pedophiles, as a regulated sex industry would not permit child labor. Mainly they would attract people who want to knock off a quick one without attracting any attention to themselves.
- I was not aware you knew so much about people & what they do. Especially people who look for prostitutes. Undesirable people attract other undesirable people. Sex offenders do not nessecarily mean pedophiles either. If someone wants a quick knock off so bad, why don't they go to a club or bar & meet someone there. It's not that hard.
So, because this activity is repugnant to your sensibilities, let's keep it illegal so the sex workers don't have to contribute taxes, like the rest of us morally upright citizens do, AND so the mob can make a living.
- I don't doubt it would be good for the economy for them to pay taxes but to regulate prostitution would still cost money. & I don't think something such as prostitution should be recognized as a career choice. Crime organizations will make money no matter what.
I think you might enjoy reading Peter McWilliams' book, Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do, if you can open your mind long enough to enjoy his pragmatism. You might not agree with him but it would certainly prepare you to better argue your own opinions.
- I doubt I would enjoy reading that book. Contrary to your belief I do have an open mind but I do not support prostitution no matter what you could possibly say to me. It is not my belief. & This is xanga, not congress. I could hardly care about arguing with people. I would much rather just hear someone elses point respectfully & have them do the same with mine. That's why I'm now done here & will no longer be replying on this post.
Oops, didn't mean to make you angry. I just thought we were having an exchange of ideas. Please accept my apologies.