do you think prostitution should be legal?

[rory_20_uk]

Legalise it. Regulate it. Tax it.

Why do I work? For the rent and bills. I am a "slave" to my job. A prostitute's motives are quite similar.
Some might not want to do the job. Some might not like the clients they have. I know I don't always like the job and some of the clients are revolting.

Trying to police it out of existence quite clearly hasn't worked, and even if there were no more important tasks for the police to do (like arresting demonstrators for example) the ways of "not actually buying" would just multiply. As it is there are such wheezes of £50 or more for a glass of close to water, after purchase the girls will be much more friendly for a length of time.

With the large amount of money taxing these workers would bring in - and the reduction of police time spent on it - all efforts can be spent on those who are coerced into it and and other illegal activities.

[Prodigal]

Bahhh...Mspost but wives will do that to a body

[Prodigal]

Legalise it. Regulate it. Tax it.

Why do I work? For the rent and bills. I am a "slave" to my job. A prostitute's motives are quite similar.
Some might not want to do the job. Some might not like the clients they have. I know I don't always like the job and some of the clients are revolting.

Trying to police it out of existence quite clearly hasn't worked, and even if there were no more important tasks for the police to do (like arresting demonstrators for example) the ways of "not actually buying" would just multiply. As it is there are such wheezes of £50 or more for a glass of close to water, after purchase the girls will be much more friendly for a length of time.

With the large amount of money taxing these workers would bring in - and the reduction of police time spent on it - all efforts can be spent on those who are coerced into it and and other illegal activities.

Man that is such a ****** up way at looking at it its practically obscene, and you obviously don't know why, but damn...Excuse me, my wifes's home, and right now I don't have time to explain.

You really think everyone who sells themselves for sex does it for fun? If you do you are really screwed up man

[rory_20_uk]

Man that is such a ****** up way at looking at it its practically obscene, and you obviously don't know why, but damn...Excuse me, my wifes's home, and right now I don't have time to explain.

You really think everyone who sells themselves for sex does it for fun? If you do you are really screwed up man

Aside from your personal attacks, where did you see I stated that my reasoning for prostitution is that they enjoy it?

[Kagemusha]

My reasoning is that because it aint going nowhere, why not just legalize it and tax it. That way the money does not go to organized crime. Has worked pretty well in Netherlands for example.

[Crazed Rabbit]

I thought a lot of the red light districts in the Netherlands were controlled by organized crime.

CR

[Ser Clegane]

@ Prodigal

Please keep this civil and refrain from making personal attacks

Thanks

[rvg]

Prostitution can be made legal everywhere (as opposed to being legal in Nevada and semi-legal in Jersey), that's not a big deal really. The being deal is to make sure that the society at large alwys shuns the profession and and views it as something dirty and unsavory. That, imho, is more important and should never change.

[Askthepizzaguy]

@rvg

Why? If you freely admit that it isn't a big deal, and you would like to make it legal, then why do you feel sex workers should be persecuted and maligned in any way? I think people get depressed and suicidal in such situations precisely because society treats them like freshly pushed poo.

[Askthepizzaguy]

What does making it illegal do? Does it prevent the sex trade from happening? No... you cannot stop two people from meeting anonymously and prevent cash from changing hands. Especially while things like one-night stands and voluntary gift giving are legal. Come to think of it, if I am dating someone and I purchase them a gift or cover their bills for whatever reason, one could almost make the argument that I am paying for sex; it depends on whether or not that is the intended arrangement or not. That basically means you have to know my motivation for giving someone a gift and also having sex with them; is it selfish or is it a relationship? Since you can't know what's going on in my mind, a very informal prostitution business could involve girls simply stating that they are in a relationship with a man, break it off really quickly as they are allowed to do, and accept whatever gifts come with the relationship. Obviously this is different from real relationships, but there doesn't appear to be a legal difference unless you can prove the intent is prostitution and not a one-night stand.

Even with enforcement, which wastes police manpower and taxpayer dollars, it doesn't prevent the sex trade from happening. I also have to look to the issue of pornography, which is legal. So, it is legal for a business to pay a person to have sex on camera, but it is not legal if the cameras aren't rolling? Pornography is nothing more than on-camera prostitution.

Seriously, if you've ever voluntarily watched pornographic video, you're consenting to prostitution. So why don't we stop being hypocritical about it? Since "ADULT FILM STARS" can legally work, pay their taxes, and so forth... you're holding a double standard if you make prostitution illegal. Either you BAN all one-night stands, gift-giving during a relationship of less than one month (or other ridiculous, arbitrary number) and all pornography whatsoever, or you're admitting that you really don't give one flying fig about "morality" in the sense of sexual morality and you're a hypocrite on the prostitution issue.

Do I want to see less of it? Yes. I also want to see people smoking and drinking less, but guess what it is none of my (expletive) business what YOU DO with YOUR BODY, unless you're talking about a public health issue. Widespread drug abuse is a public health issue because of factors like sharing needles or driving under the influence or unwanted contact highs, second-hand smoke, etc... then it becomes a public issue and that's why certain substances are banned or heavily regulated. But if you're smoking or drinking in your home or designated smoking or drinking area, it's none of my business. If you're doing marijuana in your own home and you can refrain from driving down the street high, I frankly don't give a hoot. If a woman or man wants to videotape herself/himself naked for money, not only do I not want to ban that activity, I want to make sure she's not getting exploited and she has legal protections. If a woman or man wants to do the same behavior off-camera, what's the freaking difference? It's still none of my business. I'd rather see less of that in my community and I'd rather see people in happy relationships, but you know the world isn't perfect and it is not my place to tell other people how to behave when it doesn't affect anyone but themselves.

I hate the double standard on stuff like this. If you purchase porn, you're basically endorsing prostitution, which is sex-for-pay. If you smoke, then you agree what you do to your body is your own business and I shouldn't be able to ban you from doing it in private. If you drink, same deal.

I'd like there to be one, and only one legal line when it comes to what you're allowed to do to your body. People pierce and tattoo themselves, because it is their body. People perform elective surgery on themselves in the form of plastic surgery and body modification and even sex changes. That is also none of your business. People circumcise their children, and although I might argue that is different because it's not technically their body, but their child's body, and usually unnecessary, circumcision is still legal. Drinking and smoking are regulated, but legal. Prescription drugs which can have addictive and harmful side-effects are heavily regulated, but legal. Unwed sexual relations are legal. One night stands and gift-giving is legal. Pornography is legal. But prostitution is illegal?

legalization allows several things to happen:

1. All sex workers can be accounted for, and their safety and well-being can be more closely monitored, and you can even require regular testing to look for diseases, which improves safety and public health.

2. Sex workers will be allowed to have legal protections, so it will be more difficult to abuse them and exploit them.

3. Sex workers will be required to report all income, and that taxable income could be used to pay for their medical testing and any mandatory drug rehabilitation if they are found to be using dangerous illegal drugs. Again, this improves public health and the well-being of those who were outcasts and on the fringe of society.

4. We can stop wasting police time and tax dollars on this silly issue. Maybe we could have more cops protecting us against armed robbery and hard drug trafficking.

There's a number of other arguments. However this is already rambling so I'll end it here. Point is, I might hate the idea of prostitution, but I can't stop it, and it really is none of my business, and the benefits of regulation as opposed to keeping it illegal are many, while keeping it illegal does nothing more than put poor people in jail, who will be released very shortly, and go right back to doing it. Oh, and it makes some religious/moral types feel righteous, I suppose. I think it just holds society back from a more tolerant and wise perspective.