Decriminalize sex work
I agree. If someone is willing to sell something and someone is willing to buy it and it doesn’t affect me, why not?
I agree. If someone is willing to sell something and someone is willing to buy it and it doesn’t affect me, why not?
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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May 26th, 2016 at 5:35 pm
To quote George Carlin- Selling is Legal. F-ing is Legal. Why isn’t Selling F-ing legal?
May 26th, 2016 at 5:36 pm
Indeed. Just dont get that crap on my shoes, please.
May 26th, 2016 at 5:49 pm
The problems one finds drilling into the issue of sex workers include attempted moral prohibitions, which we will ignore here, and the involuntary servitude of many sex workers under any proposed legal structure, which is worth asking about, directly, the supporters of legal paid sex.
In brief, how can one prevent criminals from forcing workers to be sex slaves, and grossly abusing the workers, when even under criminal penalties for operating a “sex worker business” that is often the case now?
May 26th, 2016 at 5:56 pm
mikee, I think you’ve been reading anti-gun blogs.
We can’t allow something to be legal because then criminals might break OTHER laws?
C’mon, man.
May 26th, 2016 at 7:22 pm
An immoral ban against willing sex work and preventing slavery are two separate issues, even if they do share some connections.
Besides, as you note, it’s not like banning sex work is preventing the slavery now, is it?
May 26th, 2016 at 7:27 pm
“Besides, as you note, it’s not like banning sex work is preventing the slavery now, is it?”
Yep.
May 26th, 2016 at 7:42 pm
In some ways, I see parallels between here and the drug prohibition, mostly in the idea that ‘Laws against X are not working’. My take on it is if something is not working, lets REMOVE THAT, BEFORE we try something else. Lets try something else INSTEAD of what we’re doing, rather than in addition.
So many laws have a great feeling of ‘Tape didn’t work, lets put glue on the tape.’
May 26th, 2016 at 7:43 pm
I could have sworn that slavery was already illegal? In fact, I seem to recall reading it was one of the few ways for a private citizen to actually violate the Constitution. Huh.
May 26th, 2016 at 10:22 pm
“If someone is willing to sell something and someone is willing to buy it and it doesn’t affect me, why not?”
It does affect you. Maybe not directly but it does affect you and those around you. Like drugs, people think only those on drugs are harmed. But no, the ripples go far.
And that is why I say no to prostitution.
May 26th, 2016 at 10:38 pm
“It does affect you.”
How?
May 26th, 2016 at 11:47 pm
Deaf Smith, “It” doesn’t affect you, the effects of regulating it do.
Hooch, dope, nookie, guns, they’re really all the same in two ways…they are nominally harmless to third parties, and people want and will find a way to have them even when gov says no. Hence those effects that affect you.
I just commented on Unc’s post about dims being such effective gun sellers…everything I said there, going back to Jimmah C., applies here. And the principles apply going back to way back further than that.
May 27th, 2016 at 10:03 am
I find it strangely disingenuous when women’s groups are staunchly opposed to prostitution because “women shouldn’t have the right to do that with their body” but then when it comes to abortion, “It is their right to choose what to do with their body!”
May 27th, 2016 at 11:35 am
mikee, banning prostitution ENABLES slavery and other abuse. It means prostitutes can’t complain to the police. It means customers who see something wrong are very unlikely to report it. It means that crooked cops can pretend to be enforcing vice laws, when actually they are working for pimps.
May 27th, 2016 at 12:45 pm
In brief, how can one prevent criminals from shooting each other over liquor territories, when even under prohibition there were criminal penalties for simply possessing liquor?
The human trafficking is enabled by the prohibition. Regulation is impossible for the black market. The good news is, it is very possible in the open market, and when there is a legal, open market, hardly anyone bothers with the illegal market — like moonshine.
Yes, moonshining still happens, but it’s a tiny portion of what it once was, and there’s almost none of the violence that was ones part of the bootlegging trade (and almost all of what we have is against tax collectors, which is almost a benefit.)
May 27th, 2016 at 1:21 pm
“It does affect you. Maybe not directly but it does affect you and those around you. Like drugs, people think only those on drugs are harmed. But no, the ripples go far.”
Maybe so, but it doesn’t violate anyone else’s rights, and it doesn’t mean the government needs to get involved.
May 27th, 2016 at 2:14 pm
Countries with legal prostitution still have plenty of human trafficking, but they do seem to have less of it. Regardless, banning prostitution doesn’t have a positive effect there.
May 30th, 2016 at 9:28 am
People are going to tear me apart on this one, but when you decriminalize something, you are in fact going to have a lot more of it because it is seen as a tacit approval of the activity.
In the specific case of prostitution, my moral indignation pops up. There are theological and moral implications that cannot be swept under the rug and I would judge a society by how many of God’s edicts it formally violates. Whether you are a believer or not, there are eternal ramifications for our behavior and how we choose to shape our society.
Oh, The argument seems to be that it is hard to stop the prostitution and other vices so let’s just decriminalize and legalize everything! Let’s end criminal activity by blessing everything we were opposed to on moral grounds because we cannot get a handle on bad activities.
Note, our bearing of arms despite criminal illegal use is justified because of the HUGE benefits of firearms in preventing the abuses of a tyrannical government. Alcohol and drug use, and prostitution are not real benefits to our society.
May 30th, 2016 at 10:01 am
@ BL, there’s no tearing apart of you, just your argument. Activities and behaviors that are not harmful to uninvolved parties should of course not be criminal to begin with, so “decriminalization” is a bit of a false premise.
The question isn’t whether an activity not being deemed criminal results in more or less of it, but rather whether criminalizing it is a net negative to society at large, which with all things considered it certainly and overwhelmingly is.
Simple really.
May 31st, 2016 at 12:51 pm
It’s not illegal to pay someone to have sex with you so long as you film it.
May 31st, 2016 at 8:03 pm
“banning prostitution ENABLES slavery and other abuse. It means prostitutes can’t complain to the police. It means customers who see something wrong are very unlikely to report it. It means that crooked cops can pretend to be enforcing vice laws, when actually they are working for pimps.”
Exactly. Same goes for certain drugs and other popular yet banned things. A ban provides a government-enforced monopoly for the worst, most agressive criminals and corrupt officials.
You don’t see many slaves in the fast food market, or as clerks in hardware stores, precisely because fast food and hardware are legal and prostitution isn’t.
So it’s one thing to be against prostitution, which I am, and quite another to be for banning it with stupid laws.
If you want to change hearts and minds, change hearts and minds. Government is a poor instrument for that purpose. It’s the difference between convincing your neighbor to go to church once in a while, and forcing him into church at gunpoint. They’re sort of different.