Andrew Klavan & Bill Whittle: Should Prostitution be Legal?

Source:The New Democrat

I have a prediction. Prostitution, will become the next big freedom of choice and personal freedom issue in America. We already have a consensus on same-sex marriage, homosexuality and sexuality in general. As far as believing that this should be up to individual Americans to choose whether how they conduct themselves in their personal lives. And that gay marriage doesn’t affect straight marriage. We have a building consensus on marijuana, especially with young Americans who believe marijuana should be treated like alcohol and tobacco. Prostitution, will be next, at least with young Americans and Americans in general who are tired of seeing their high taxes go to funding the prison industrial complex.

Prostitution, like most personal freedom and personal choice issues, comes down to what should government be doing and how much choice and freedom should the individual have over their own lives. Big government statists on the Right and Left will say, “prostitution is dangerous. People get hurt, including the prostitutes with their pimps and everything else. It should always be illegal.” When you make something illegal, you at the very least are saying this is wrong. It should go away and should never be practiced. But what is the oldest profession in the world? Prostitution of course and its illegal in most of the United States. Just because you make something illegal, doesn’t mean it goes away. It just means that some people will be held criminally liable for doing it and getting caught.

So now that we know that, just because you make something that it is dangerous illegal, that doesn’t mean it won’t go away. The question is what should be done about it. And I’m glad to hear a self-described Libertarian like Andrew Klavan actually speak in favor of government regulation. Which segues into my next point. You legalize, regulate and tax prostitution, it still won’t go away. But that’s not my point. The idea is to acknowledge the obvious prostitution is here to stay. So knowing that again what should be done about it. And go to making it as safe as possible.

Registering prostitutes and their boss’s, whether that person is still called a pimp or not. But forcing them to get licensed to work at, manage, or own a prostitution business.

Forcing prostitutes to get medically checked on a regular basis. And requiring them to be healthy in order to work as a prostitute.

Instead of putting legal prostitutes away in jail and letting them out the next morning, crack down on abusive pimps, who beat up their women and steal their money and put them in prison.

Continue to use vice squads and under cover detectives to work the business. But not to arrest prostitutes and johns, but to make sure the employees in the business are acting responsibly and legally.

21 or over with at least a high school diploma at least, healthy and licensed to work in the business. 21 or over, licensed and healthy to be a customer in the business, as well.

Even with these regulations, prostitution is still here to stay. But now it can be as safe a business or profession as it possibly can. With the workers in the business able to make real good money and pay taxes on it. Which would be good for taxpayers, government budgets and the economy.