Then make another thread w/ a public poll. I voted that it should be legal. As long as cigarettes, alcohol, and prostitution (in reno) is legal, so should mar1juana and prostitution everywhere.
Of course it would, many fellows would be concerned their women might see their response. They would edit what they really think to protect their image. I have seen empirical evidence of a HUGE gender difference on the issue. You can take a group of educated women and inform of the public health benefit of legalization and regulation (for instance in the 1st world countries where prostitution is legal HIV is not spread this way, and where it is illegal it does)--and you still have a hard time getting them to split 50/50 in favor of legalization and regulation (damn the health benefits). I think if you answer the question as to what would provide the most protections for those most negatively impacted by prostitution, the answer would be legalization and regulation. But those people (mostly ostracized women) don't have a lot of political weight and the situation is what it is.
Donny has it right. There should be ZERO laws telling me (or anyone else) what I can and cannot do with myself.
Actually, they are very commonly linked in US America. Was playing poker last night with an (awesome) guy who is a public defender for children without guardians in Oakland. Most commonly he is representing these kids (minors) when they are involved in prostitution. He is appointed by the state to help guide them through the system and get them off the streets. He is voting NO on the prostitution legalization, (lives in SF), because he has seen that it is so very often NOT an elective career. He fears that, if "legalized," that will just mean the city will try to save money on enforcement and prosecution of prostitution, while not pursuing the cases of children sold into sexual slavery. I am voting NO also. This city government doesn't work very well. By the way, if you think slavery ended in the US, check out the Not for Sale project.
That's nice, but that doesn't address the issue that slavery and prostitution are fundamentally different, and no more linked together than landscaping companies and slavery are. Just because you have one, does not mean you have the other, and vice versa. Do not blame the cart for pulling the horse... it doesn't work that way.
appreciate your viewpoint. To me, you're in a very philosophical area, and I'm talking about the pragmatic street-level view. We can agree to disagree. Currently, a huge percentage of prostitutes are not in the business by choice, and a huge percentage are underage. If a program could police that effectively, I'm all for legalized prostitution by a consenting adult.
I heard a comedian say this the other night: "A woman cannot legally prostitute herself, but she can have an abortion because she chooses what to do with her body. So I guess the uterus belongs to the woman but the vagina belongs to the state." Pretty hard to argue with the logic.
For the same reason people use online bidding sites instead of buying it from a licensed and taxed retailer.... Just so Giddy can judge me, I voted yes.
There's nothing secure or valid with Craigslist or online classifieds. Just a crapshoot. eBay is somewhat secure. You could still discover an unwanted consequence months later though...
That is a good point but I would counter by saying though is leaving prostitution to the black market any good? I think that since pretty much all of prostitution in the US outside of NV is black market there are no legal guarentees or protections for involved in every aspect of it. So there is no reason for those who might work in the sex trade out of choice or those who patronize it to cooperate with authorities to root out the worst since its all illegal. I'm not an expert on this by any stretch but my understanding is that many police forces will tolerate a certain amount of prostitution and look the other way as long as prostitutes will help to report things like people being forced into it. So a zero tolerance policy is already unworkable and damaging to trying address the worst problems.
Well put. In the case of Craigslist and classifieds I would say that is more of a case of a legal black market.
People obviously think they are secure enough to use them with amazing frequency.... so I'd say you're wrong there. We vote with our mouse clicks, and craigslist gets a lot of votes...
Simple. You must carry a special ID to be considered a legal prostitute, and you must be at least 18 years old.
I have a couple of questions... 1) Why tax it when you can fine it? There's nothing to regulate. People like to say that "it's bad but there's nothing you can do about it"... But I bet if the fines on this were high enough, it would be reduced dramatically. Since the gain of regulating this "industry" is not worthwhile, and since the government would be using significant resources to be the first country to ever get it right, is it worth regulating? I think we can all agree that it should remain illegal, the penalties should be such that whoever is profiting from it will not take the risk. I don't understand the American system, so I don't know if the money from taxes go to a different place than the money from fines. If it is essentially the same, fine the hell out of it rather than tax the hell out of it. Give everyone the choice, but change the cost-benefit ratio... I think that's the way to go. 2) I can't imagine anyone would want their child to become a prostitute, no matter what the circumstances. This goes for prostitutes as well - I'm sure they wouldn't want anyone to have to resort to it. I saw a video in another thread which said we are all slaves to money. This is especially applicable here. 1% of the world's population owns 40% of the world's resources, yet I suppose we are completely against giving anyone our hard-earned money to avoid prostitution, but we are extremely content to allow them to sell themselves for a buck. Instead of rooting out the cause of prostitution and finding revolutionary ways to tackle the problem (As much as possible obviously), we'd rather let them create a new industry, the taxes of which everyone would share, right? Because that means not only you don't give up money, everyone gets more money from the new industry. All for something you would never allow your own child to do. Something you would give up every dime you have to avoid seeing from someone you love. This is where we are now. Willing to profit from prostitution. If the government collects taxes from prostitution, and builds a road in front of your house with that money, then aren't you a pimp? Ofcourse you are, you just didn't get your hands dirty. Pro choice is nice, and I agree with it for mar1juana and abortion. But not for this.
A women can do whatever she wants with her uterus. She can have an abortion. She can lease out her uterus to carry somebody else's child (surrogate). The state, however, regulates what she can do with her vagina.
