I'm sure we all agree about a woman's right to choose. So why can't we allow her to choose ......

[Stinky The Clown]

.... to be a sex worker?

Or allow a guy to make the same choice?

I am putting outside this argument any coercion, abuse, under age issues, public heath issues, etc. Those are all real, to be sure, but only tangential at best to the core issue.

Why can a perfectly healthy, sane, rational woman not choose to accept money in exchange for a sexual act with another person willing to pay that woman for that act?

[zanne]

1. I agree.

If prostitution became legal, it would be regulated and safe. No more pimps, STD's or dead prostitutes. And the police would have to take rape, battery and murder of prostitutes seriously.

[babylonsister]

2. Heavy duty for a Sunday a.m., but I'm with you; legalize

sexual relations for money if both parties are adults and that's what they want to do.
I could not care less. Why this is even an issue is the question.

[Liberal Veteran]

3. Because sex is evil and dirty and should be confined to it's proper place in public bathroom stalls.

:P

[Debi]

4. tap...tap...tap...n/t

[NYC_SKP]

13. That's HOT! nt

[dysfunctional press]

5. athletes and models use their bodies to make money-

why shouldn't prostitutes have the same options, legally...?

[Warren Stupidity]

6. For the same reason I'm not allowed to choose to smoke pot.

We have a puritanical mindset in this country of ours that strongly believes it is a good thing to mind everyone else's business.

[RedShoes]

23. now, pot should DEFINITELY be legal. eom

[NC_Nurse]

7. Fine with me. Can we let adults do drugs too, if that's what floats their boat?

Tax it with a nice big vice tax and use the money to treat HIV, drug addiction, etc.
Think of all the money we'll save and can use to fight VIOLENT crime?
And maybe even HELP some people?

No, that'd be CRAZY! :crazy:

[lonestarnot]

8. All of that just makes too much damn good sense (cents).

[Stinky The Clown]

14. The broad term "drugs" causes me to pause when considering legalizing them ......

First ...... pot, specifically ...... no problem. legalize it tomorrow.

The rest of the drug scene, I'm less accepting. In some cases, waaaaaay less accepting.

A heroin addict eventually becomes a burden to society. Even if heroin were free, the person still becomes incapable of even basic self-care.

A crystal meth user becomes a danger to self and society, a potential violence machine.

Many are the drugs that, simply by frequent use, cause chronic, lifelong medical issues. Two of them are even legal - tobacco and alcohol. Things like crack are even worse.

So ....... sex between consenting adults, no matter the specific sex act and no matter the genders involved, is, as a broad statement, harmless.

Drug use, without qualification is not harmless. Pot is, broadly speaking, harmless. Heroin, meth, crack, etc., are *not* harmless.

[NC_Nurse]

21. Perhaps you would prefer the term "decriminalize" rather than "allow"...

people do them anyway. You can more easily control what's out there if people have choices, rather than making them a criminal from the get-go.
If they could get pot, hash, opium, mushrooms...maybe they wouldn't huff glue, do meth or other more toxic chemicals. There will always be drug
users..if they were not underground and young people could see these people's dead-end lives for what they are...maybe it would be less attractive.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Because if you'd ever worked with street kids, you'd know

how the johns prefer young teens. A girl or boy 14 or under can make more money than an 18-year-old, because the johns naively assume that they're less likely to have STDs.

Even if we said that sex workers have to be 18, there'd still be an underground trade in 12-14 year olds and plenty of desperate runaways susceptible to the "breaking in" process of the pimps. (The process goes like this: Find frightened, starving runaway or throwaway young person. Buy food clothing and shelter for said runaway, acting like a concerned relative. After the runaway gets all comfy and trusting, demand "payment," reinforcing with beatings and other forms of torture if necessary.)

I'd want to REALLY throw the book at anyone who pimps young teens and anyone who buys sex from young teens, names printed in the paper and everything.

[OwnedByFerrets]

11. There is a working system already in place.

It works. What we have NOW isnt working. Your argument makes a perfect argument why it needs to be legalized and regulated. Same as drugs.

[katandmoon]

15. Legalization and regulation wouldn't stop an underground trade in underage children

[eShirl]

18. neither would keeping things the way they are

[Stinky The Clown]

24. In the OP .......

.... I specifically suggested we not discuss, among other issues, that of underage kids doing sex work.

I agree with you. It is a problem and demands its own special remedies/preventions. But it is off topic and one of the things that gets in the way of considering the narrow issue raised in the OP. Get kids into the dicussion and emotion takes over and soon enough the whole discussion is sidetracked.

Again, I am not dismissing or diminishing the issue ..... just suggesting it doesn't belong in the narrow discussion posed in the OP.

[johnaries]

25. That's not true in the majority of cases.

If you are working with street kids, then of course that's what you see the most. But that's not a representative sample of the industry. And the OP precludes underage sex. He is only talking about consenting adults.

I agree with the OP. It should be legal between consenting adults.

[OwnedByFerrets]

10. Its a perfectly legitimate question. And, if its legal

in some parts of Amerika, why not all. Hell, we know it works. But that is like saying that Socialized medicine works in France and Denmark, why not here. No, the naysayers must ignore the FACT that there is a working system that could be emulated.

[Warpy]

12. I hate all intrusive nanny state laws

although I can see regulating things for public health reasons.

That means registering and making sure sex workers protect their health and the health of their clients.

That means assuring the potency and purity of recreational drugs.

It also means laws against driving while impaired and distributing inappropriate services and substances to children.

Any other such laws are an infringement of personal liberty in a supposedly free society and should not be tolerated.

I would much rather see our law enforcement and court structure dedicated to tracing, capturing and punishing the grand scale thieves in imported three piece suits than attempting to force religious morality on an unwilling public.

[NashVegas]

16. A Female Ancestor of Mine Was Indicted Six Times For "Procurring"

And yet, I can't say 'make it totally legal.'

Decriminalize, absolutely.

My reasoning is this: some people, for whatever reasons, will deviate from the social norms. If we normalize pretty much everything, deviants will increasingly turn to more destructive behavior. You've got to give people *something* to make them feel like they're putting one over on the rest of us.

Besides: there's something about the idea of a government handed the ability to *regulate* a legal sex-as-a-business trade that's absolutely appalling. Are you absolutely certain you wouldn't rather risk jail altogether, than have your sexual behavior guidelines set by the government?

[eShirl]

17. legalize it, regulate it, and let the workers join/form union(s) n/t

[flvegan]

19. Especially since it's legal in parts of two states already.

What's up with that?

[Love Bug]

20. You would probably like the book, "Ain't Nobody's Business if You Do"

by the late, great Peter McWilliams.

http://www.amazon.com/Aint-Nobodys-Business-You-Consensual/dp/192976717X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215962879&sr=8-1

Here's the description:

Obsessed with a personal freedom that some would consider license, McWilliams ( How to Survive the Loss of a Love ) here contends that consensual crimes--those involving drugs, gambling, sex and unusual religious practices, among them--should be allowed if they do not physically harm others or their property. In this overlong, diffuse but often entertaining book, studded with illustrations and quotations from the likes of Elvis Presley and Saint Augustine, the author argues that not only are our constitutional rights violated by punishment for such crimes, but that enforcing ineffectual, costly laws results in the needless jailing of thousands each year, and yield suffering and social discrimination for many harmless non-conformists. Meanwhile, he wrongfully claims, violence, robbery and corruption go largely unpunished. Citing historical precedents and extensively analyzing the Bible, McWilliams calls for a "politics of change" that would separate law from religion and morality, and that would honor diversity.

Here's the author's Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_McWilliams

You can also read the book on McWilliam's website: http://mcwilliams.com/

[RedShoes]

22. consenting. adults.

these should be the only two criterion used to determine whether it's criminal or not. Coercion is not consent and children are not adults so it pretty much handles the rest.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

26. because society is sexist. either sexist because they dont want to give sex workers rights

or sexist because they presume they know what is better for the adult woman than she does herself.

sex work is not in anyway an easy or a great career decision, but keeping it illegal makes it harder for the woman. i have very little tolerance for judgmental holier than thou upper class men and women, who like to keep sex work illegal

[madmom]

27. Between consenting adults...no problem!

[Th1onein]

28. A right to choose WHAT? Abortion?

I do NOT agree that she has THAT particular choice.

As for the choice of being a sex worker, all things being equal, yes, I agree that she has that right, in a perfect world. The problem is that this is not a perfect world, and that most sex workers are engaged in the profession for the wrong reasons--they are usually victims, not free to choose.

[cbc5g]

29. Because of America's puritanical bullshit past

That says violence is OKAY even fun to watch but sex or nipples being shown is BAD BAD BAD and only for procreation!