Prostitution among consenting adults 21+ years of age should not be an illegal act. For me, it’s an immoral act, but how can any government justify any authority on the matter? It’s just payment of services rendered like the kid who cuts my grass or the exterminator that sprays my house. At the end of the job, payment is made.
Prostitution limited to brothels
Prostitution regulated to only being performed in brothels allows registration, licensing, fees like any other service-related business. Since it involves public health, inspections can be mandated. These inspections include the physical property, but also the health of the service providers. Employees must be alcohol, drugs, and STD free. Just as restaurant and school/childcare inspections and ratings are maintained online, the brothel inspections should be made available. Potential clients should be able to research like any other business.
Employees
To prohibit underage solicitation, strict hiring practices must be maintained and monitored. Without fear of incarceration, many adults could enter this field of employment negating the need for minors. Employees would receive benefits as tips, healthcare, retirement, vacation, holiday, and sick leave, etc.
Pimps and Madams
Business owners would not have to be concerned with receiving clients’ payments through their employees. Clients would prepay or post-pay for services at the brothel. Accurate records can easily be maintained and make payroll distribution equitable for all employees. Competition would be based upon price and quality of services.
Economy
With the growing number of unskilled trade and non-technical people being released from our educational systems, many could gain employment in this field where job training may not be necessary. The increased tax revenue would benefit the governments (local/state/federal) thus reducing their debt. The revenue would be from income taxes, business taxes, and fees. Brothels could provide other amenities to generate revenue, spa, restaurant, visit-limited memberships, and theaters. They could provide an entire “date” experience to incorporate call-girl/gigolo services.
Reductions
There would be a reduction in the crime rate, since solicitation and payment for it would not be illegal. Hospital and/or Emergency centers would have less indigent patients as healthcare would be provided by employers.
This was just a train of thought, and please don’t ask how it occurred because I don’t remember. My mind just does this sometimes.
So what do you think?
UPDATE
I see that I need to express my point of view so hopefully no one will think that I have COMPLETELY lost it.
Act of sex is a sacred expression of Love, not a means of just physical satisfaction. Prostitution is the contradiction. Our bodies are a gift and to treat it in such a matter of horrible, whether it's voluntary or forced.
This post is a result of my wandering mind wondering how would/could someone justify the legalization of prostitution. I had to separate my personal feelings on this subject to present the points in terms of mainly business and the economy.
yes it should - if we belive in liberty and free enterprise
ReplyDeleteProstitution is the oldest profession and it will never go away. Just as prohibition criminalized drinking and therefore wreaked havoc on society, not reducing drinking but increasing it and loading up the courts and jails with all the new "criminals," just as the criminalizing of narcotics in the 30's now gave rise to an increase in drug usage and fueled a whole global syndicate of ruthless drug lords who profit from the trade and made a whole new huge wave of "criminals," trying to keep prostitution down by making it illegal does just the opposite. Whenever the laws of man make something a "forbidden fruit" the human nature is to desire it the most, even at the risk of getting caught and punished in the pursuit of it.
ReplyDeleteEnlightened society cannot be legislated. Alcoholism, drug abuse, and seedy street prostitution are simply symptoms of a godless immoral society. You don't change the human condition by outlawing it.
So yes, legalizing prostitution makes sense - not only for the practical reasons you cite above, which are all of good merit, but also because hey - it's gonna happen anyway, people. You prefer your sneaking around hubby or significant other to catch aids from a heroin shooting back-alley ho and maybe even get robbed by her pimp while at it, or have him get his libido satisfied in a clean safe environment with an std free professional that pays her taxes?
Good afternoon Sista GP,
ReplyDeleteI would not be suprised if this blog post does not set a record for number of visitors.
You're advocating legalization of the prostitution sex industry by the same government entities of whom you ask "..how can any government justify any authority on the matter?" hmmmmm
I don't know if this is satire or serious Sista GP. You do have the knack for throwing a curve, plus I haven't eaten today so my capacity to reason is not what it normally is (that warrants a laugh from the audience).
I don't think legalities matter much to a man who wants sex. I would say that whenever the govenment is involved in a business enterprise, it becomes a problem (just ask anyone involved in organized crime).
How would the government handle extenuating circumstances? What happens when a young girl is just naturally gifted. Should restraint of trade be applied to her because she's only 13?
I wonder if there would be an outcry from catholic priests who love young boys.
I get what you're saying Sista GP. However, there are just some roads I don't want to pay for just to have them paved.
A man once told me, "truth taken to an extreme will result in error". This would open pandora's door for extreme thinking.
I don't believe there is a right or wrong answer to this issue because there is no one answer that solves problematic issues on both sides of it.
As I said, I think this post will generate much discussion and intelligent discourse. Although my comments may not be intelligent on this subject, I nonetheless decided to share my thoughts.
U
Let me see if I understand a few comments ...well, I do but I think some may be misleading or out right wrong.
ReplyDelete"Just as prohibition criminalized drinking and therefore wreaked havoc on society, not reducing drinking but increasing it and loading up the courts and jails with all the new "criminals," just as the criminalizing of narcotics in the 30's now gave rise to an increase in drug usage and fueled a whole global syndicate of ruthless drug lords who profit from the trade and made a whole new huge wave of "criminals,"
The above is NOT true. It must be an opinion because that facts speak differently. It may have increased the number of criminal but IT DID NOT increase the number of drinkers. The Government knew that drinking is a death warrant. However, greed and money won the battle over right. They made pimping people legal by allowing the flow of alcohol. Millions now suffer from alcohol related death. Billions of dollars are spent on alcohol related problems. Families are destroyed. Alcohol related problems dwaft that of illegal substances - COMBINED.
To suggest that legalization of a "crime" (it is a crime) leads to a better day is purely hogwash. Better for who? Surely not society as a whole. What message would we be sending to are young ones ...what? Its okay to sell your body because its legal. That's the message, no matter how one wishes to debate it. When morals shifts under a cloud of smoke and mirrors, whats next? People sell babies, so lets make it legal ...they been doing it since time...huh. Why don't we just sell drugs right next to the chicken shacks ...hey, they do it now so lets legalize it? Wouldn't want to make criminal of our next generation of drug dealer. That would be hard on the record.
Alcohol consumption did NOT increase during prohibition. It increased after it became legal. Some people abide by the laws, other rationalize a way around it!
I AGREE! I get so sad when I see so many young women turning to prostitution in so many cities around the country. Young girls under 18 especially runaways are often lead to life on the streets as they cannot legally work, many of them are trafficked into the trade and sadly they are criminalized and often given records after being victims of violence themselves.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how the US even continues this puritanical act when we know good and darn well that prostitution is alive and well right here in the country.
Perhaps we could cut down on the white slave trade of foreign women being brought to our country to work illegal brothels, perhaps we could get a handle on the rising number of of AIDS and HIV, and regulate something that runs amuck.
I see more pros than cons!
Prostitution is not your pop in DVD like Pretty Woman staring Richard Gere & Julia Roberts.
ReplyDeleteIf you get your kicks on route 66, it's filled with nasty men that hasn't washed in days. If protitution is legalized the prize goes up ...not down. Many men do not wish to patronize the girl next door. Many prefer the gutbucked mudstomper, that they can abuse and use ...for $20 or maybe a rock.
For all those that are so nieve to think this business should be legalized lets consider flipping the script and make it legal for men to sell their wares. How many men would be comfortable with that? How many mothers would have a college fund for their sons and daughters ...pimpin' 101, the old fashion way.
Prostitution is a demoralizing business ...especially for the women! Who wants their husbands coming home with a debate about prostitution being legal. Oh, wait, only certain kinds of men do that. Again, men are bought, so does the arguements still apply.
Most marriages will suffer if prostitution is legalized. If a women thinks see can compete with the thrills and excitement of "the other women" she's utterly mistaken. The varity alone makes that a nobrainer.
Make no mistake about it, "legal" will not stop crack prostitutes and truck stop lizzards. It will only serve to put money into the pockets of the Government and into hands of the purveyors of filth and moral decay.
How would you like your granddaughter seeing a school for would be ho's ...huh? It's not pretty ...prostitution. Its about men with various degrees of motives ....it's ugly!
underOvr (aka The U)
ReplyDelete"I don't know if this is satire or serious Sista GP."
It's a mixture of satire and Sista GP "what if..."
I agree with Carey Carey.
ReplyDeleteHaving been sold for sex by my father I am not in favor of this on any level. We have a real problem with human trafficking in the world.
I am not sure if we polled sex workers and asked if they could have done something else would they have chosen the oldest profession.
I understand the matter at hand you are presenting...but are you thinking of picking up this career. Yeah, you know its a career, its addictive money....lol
ReplyDeleteall-mi-t
ReplyDeletei figured you would say that
Marvin D. Wilson
Being born in sin, people will desire worldly acts. It's our choice whether to act upon them.
underOvr (aka The U) said...
There are flaws in my points as there will be flaws in attempts to regulate this industry.
Your points of view, fed or unfed, are always welcome here.
CareyCarey
I'm amazed as to what our society considers a "crime". It seems political clout rules over sensibility and morality.
Aunt Jackie
With all the pros, there will be some who exploit the cons.
CareyCarey
I wish our society will change to eliminate prosititution so there will be no debate on its legality
Lovebabz
It is sad for our society that this IS considered the world's oldest profession. What does it say about us?
Oyin
I plan to have my own service-related business in the near future, but nothing like this. I'll stick to information technology.
I have just finished a documentary called "Happy Endings" on Rhode Island's legal prostitution in Asian massage parlors. If you keep morality out of it and just look at the facts and law, when we keep the activity criminal only women get arrested. It doesn't make sense to only arrest the sex worker. In 2006 with only soliciting on the street illegal in RI 107 women were arrested and only 2 men were arrested, I can not think of any other law where there is such a gender bias.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my film, it will be out in June.
www.happyendingsdoc.com
I supported legalizing prostitution until I read Shared Hope International's article on the legalization of prostitution in the Netherlands. Legalizing prostitution did nothing to decrease the mistreatment of the women by pimps and traffickers, in many cases it made it easier for the abuse to occur. Forced prostitution frequently occurs and only about 2,000 of the estimated 10,000 prostitutes in Amsterdam are legally employed (p. 31). Here's a link to the report if you'd like to read more.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sharedhope.org/files/demand_netherlands.pdf
Personally, I think Sweden's policy of decriminalizing the sale of sex and criminalizing the purchase of sex to be more effective. It protects the women and has greatly reduced the instances of human trafficking in Sweden.
This has been a great debate. Thanks you Ms. GP for bringing this issue to the floor.
ReplyDeleteI'd never thought about the issue of who's the criminal and who gets arrested for the crime.
I agree Sista GP (no debate). I am reminded of an old school phrase "you have to bring some *** to get some" no pun intended ...I think *lol*
Someone will eventually challege the legality of prostitution and use the Constitution to get their way just like they did with pornography. As long as pornography is still thriving theres going to be a chance for legal prostitution in the near future.
ReplyDeleteNo this thing should not be legalized i believe this.
ReplyDeleteLawyer directory
I would agree.
ReplyDeleteI've blogged this topic myself on a few occasions and I don't see a problem. Tax revenue for the country, an income for her and a community service for those men out there looking for some strange.
Delta Burke used to always say that whenever a woman was looking for a million dollars she should remember that she's sitting on it.