COLUMN: The legalization of prostitution

Oh, it’s happening all over again. Another year of higher learning is upon us and I can just feel the excitement permeating from all of you who were able to get a last-minute salon booking. The thing about having school begin again is that people are in search of work. I know I am, and I’ve come up with the perfect job for myself. The only problem is that it’s illegal, and I’ve been wondering why. To me, prostitution seems like a very legitimate and honest way to make a living.

I was talking to a complete stranger on the Internet the other night about this very issue, and according to them, prostitution was legal until public health became a primary concern of European governments, namely Britain and France. Churches didn’t even really care about it. It wasn’t until wealthy men were getting STDs that it was made illegal.

So what can we derive from this? Men were the cause of the criminality of prostitution and it appears that it will be men who will be the cause of its decriminalization, ironically enough, mainly for the same reason. Wealthy men are tired of these women getting them sick, so, under the guise of protecting the prostitutes, they are really seeking to protect themselves.

Legalizing prostitution seems to raise many morality questions, but I don’t really see why. If you have the disposition of a religious moral belief structure, then you would probably never venture into the alleys of “boughten” love, so why do you even care if it’s legal or not? It affects you in absolutely no way, shape or form. It doesn’t destroy family values, because if a person is going to go to a prostitute, they are going to do it whether it’s legal or not. If the client is married, then there were already things wrong with that marriage and the prostitute is not to blame, the client is. So quit pointing fingers at the prostitutes.

I’m not saying people of the world start randomly selling their bodies for money. What I am saying is that in order to make it work, you have to do it right. Make it a business, where a business license is required. This license would have to be renewed every month or two, free of charge. The renewal stipulation would be a mandatory STD testing.

Part of getting the business license would be an 18-or-older age requirement with the agreement to use protection at all business meetings (or whatever you want to call them). Also, create a fixed price for all services rendered so no one is getting screwed over. Like restaurants, if the service is good, the server should be given a gratuity. It makes sense to me, and it’s the right thing to do. A mandatory list of clients should be kept, in case of infection. This way clients would be warned about possible contamination.

This would put prostitutes in a safer area of business without having to worry about pimps or mob interaction. Let them work in red-light districts that cops can patrol to protect the prostitutes instead of arresting them. I think only prostitutes should be allowed to work in red-light districts. This way, the religious right will not have to worry about having to look at something they disagree with, unless they go out of their way to do so.

Make it mandatory for the women to show their business license to prospective customers. The license should show the professional’s picture, age, any diseases and when their last test was. This will help to protect the clients. As long as there is a demand, there will be a supply. Legalize it. Tax it. Spend it. It’s basic economics.

Prostitution is already legal in a number of facets. You cannot charge someone to have sex with you in private, but if an adult film entertainer can pay you to sleep with a number of people throughout a few days while recording it and then sell that recording to the world, that is legal and fine. It looks like another example where the little man is once again being stifled while corporate America monopolizes, profits and remains lawfully exempt.

Finally, I think the most important thing to the issue at hand is the individual’s body. They should have the right to choose what they do with it. Telling anyone they are not allowed to use their body to make a profit is just downright unconstitutional. I say let freedom ring.

Richard Timothy

rtimothy1@hotmail.com