A human body should never be subject to the laws or regulations of any outside entity, which means that prostitution should definitely be legalized. What a person chooses to do with his or her body is his or her own business, not the government's. Besides, the government putting a ban on something very rarely solves the problem it was trying to solve in the first place (e.g. alcohol, drugs, guns, gambling, and prostitution for that matter...). Prohibition should be the last thing the check off the list. Legalizing, regulating, and taxing prostitution will bring in some extra money for the government (which we all know it needs) and will reduce the swelling prison population by removing inmates who committed victimless crimes.

If you want to talk of immorality, why not talk about the war profiteers? Why not talk of the oil speculators? Why not talk of the tobacco industry?

Prostitution, although unsavory, is as legitimate a service as being a maid, or a plumber. It fulfills a need.

And although I disagree with prostitution..... it is not our place to use our opinions of how "immoral" something is to deem it illegal or banned without legitimate reason.

When it comes down to it, is there any real, valid reason prostitution is illegal? All right, it can be questionable morally, but how is it a threat to society? In fact, making it legal makes it less of a threat, because then it can be treated as a legitimate business, with health care and insurance, and steady wages. The women would have more protection from abusive johns and pimps, and men would have greater assurances of not getting robbed. The ability to tax it is just an added bonus.

Prostitution has been with us from the beginning of time. There is no way we can rid ourselves of this type of business so why not legalize it and have all people who are willing to sell sexual contact be registered and seen to medically. The rise of STD's is staggering and while I don't mean to put the statistics squarely on top of the prostitutes shoulders we can, at the very least, control the diseases which still plague us. There is also nothing wrong with taxing it since it is a business but if it came right down to it I'd rather see them be checked by the CDC than anything else.

The question is not whether prostitution should be legal, the question should be why is it illegal? In a supposed free society, adults should be able to make personal, private life-style choices without government interference. Adults choosing to buy sex from other consenting adults should be a natural act in a free society. What has occurred in the United States and some other countries is the state enforcement of the religious and moral codes of one group of citizens over everyone else. Pushed underground, prostitution and other vices become underground activities, run by criminals and outlaws, who use to the proceeds to finance even more criminal enterprises. Remember, the Mafia became strong by selling bootleg alcohol during Prohibition.

No question- legalize. All of these laws that try to regulate morality don't end the activities they are trying to prevent. Making prostitution illegal only sends it underground, creating a fertile ground for crime, abuse, and STDs- not to mention un-wanted pregnancies resulting in more abortions . People will cheat on each other- it is part of human nature, and nothing will ever stop that. There is a reason prostitution is called the oldest profession- human desire.

Yes, regulate it like in Denmark but only after asking the Danes what unforeseen side effects they have encountered and figuring out ways to counter the negative effects.

I guess there are some people out there that (for whatever reason) are too impatient to develop a relationship or can only get sex by paying for it. Luckily I don't belong to either one of those groups so who am I to deny them their pleasure.

It's just one of those things that have always been done, there even are some monkeys that do it too, and it's plain idiotic to try and prohibit something that will simply never stop. I care about dignity of women. And women are stripped of their dignity when they decide for whatever reason to go into prostitution... and they are stripped of their dignity not because of the prostitution itself, but because of the prohibition that forces them into the sad ugly crime scene.

There's an old addage that says you "can't legislate morality," and I think there are some things that can't be legislated. Prostitution is going to exist whether or not we legalize it. There's a reason it's called "the world's oldest profession."

However, I suppose there could be some type of taxation levied, but I fail to see how it could be enforced, unless the prostitutes were required to work in "legitimate" brothels.

Would that not be restriction of trade?

Legalize it and control it but you must think about the side effects. A major side effect would be an increase in the number of cases of anxiety attacks among do gooders and bible thumpers.

Might as well. People are going to do it anyway. At least this way maybe people will be required to be tested and regulated.

There are several arguments that all say that we should not allow prostitution on several bases mostly moral/ethics or medical. In either case people should take a closer examination of themselves and come to realize what is reality and what is fiction. It would be nice to live in a world where people do not kill each other, where people respect one another not for their fame and money but for simply being a human being. The reality is that the world is not really that pretty. People have biological urges which need fulfilling and the like. In any case we need to come to a consensual understanding of what world we live in.

Prostitution happens whether people want to admit it or not. In doing so people are one, endangering themselves and helping spread sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) and two, making money which is not being accounted for or taxed. There are other places around the world like the city of Amsterdam in which prostitution as well as other 'immoral' things are legal such as drugs. The difference is that such things are monitored and regulated in that prostitutes must go and get physical examinations. If they are found to have a STD or other potentially transmitted disease they are obligated by law to inform their customers.

On a more personal note I do not fully understand why it is ok for Americans to be allowed to smoke and choose to run the risk of cancer, or choose to go sky-diving and the like, which has risks yet one of the biggest arguments against legalizing prostitution are the health factors. There are risks that people take everyday whether we want to or not. Everyday people run the risk of getting into car accidents, and plane crashes; every day the people on earth run the risk of being wiped out by a meteor and so on. There are many risks that occur yet we focus on the risk of getting a STD from a prostitute.

The biggest argument in my opinion that there is against legalizing prostitution are the ethical issues, not the medical ones. A lot of people are concerned that America’s position will be changed in that other countries will frown on the fact that we have legalized prostitution. How can this be true when there are several other countries including countries in Europe that have also legalized prostitution? What comes to mind when one thinks of a prostitute? A person of less moral standards, one who is poor, lives in the 'bad' areas of a city or town. They generally are not in good health and probably have STD's. This is really the perception of our society. By legalizing prostitution perceptions would be changed, since it would no longer be an illegal act but a legitimate method of income with taxes being removed and regulations being placed.

If parents do not wish for this to be legalized they need to realize that it is their job as their child’s caregiver to inform their children and guide them based on their morals. The same is said for smoking, alcohol and drug use. Parents advocate against it saying that they should not have to raise children in an environment where there is smoking and the like, but as the rights of others smoking or drinking should not be taken away simply because parents do not wish their children to use such products. For this reason is should be up to the parents to stop their children to take the products, but do not push one's morals on everyone else. Just because a parent does not think that smoking or drinking is ok does not mean that no one should be able to take those actions.

In summary we should legalize prostitution for the following reasons:

- It will become a legitimate form of work meaning that the government will take taxes and enforce regulations making it safer then it is now.

- People are doing it anyway, and at its current state it is not very safe for neither the prostitute nor the buyer.

- While there will always be certain risks that come from transmission of diseases and the like, there are risks for everything.

- The biggest reason for people not approving of the idea is not of medical issues but of moral issues.

- If parents do not wish for their sons/daughters to participate in such actions or go into that line of work (should it ever be legalized), they should take responsibility and educate their child on their ideas of the situation.

- Just because people do not agree with the idea of prostitution does not mean that we should take the freedom of that choice away from other people.

Yes, License it, Regulate it, and Tax it, and then provide social support for it, while working heavily to combat Human Trafficking.

I have a lot more written about this on my BLog: http://www.arionshome.com/social-activism/prostitution/

yes, but how strict are the regulations? i guess checking for stds is alright, but that's it.

but yeah, i mean, it's okay to have a shit load of sex for free, so why not pay for it? under a market it would be safer than than promiscuous sex. plus, it would put the trannies of New York out of business and they'll go homeless and die, thus, ending our Tranny problem.

Gene Simmons thinks so! He has written a book titled Ladies of the Night: a Historical Perspective of the Oldest Profession in the World. Simmons appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe to discuss the book. His research found that in many cultures, prostitutes exist/existed at the highest levels of society. They are/were respected political or religious figures. He feels that due to America's puritanical roots, our country fears sex and is unable to bring the subject into the light.