and if so, in what form?
Personally, I think it should be legalized but only allowed in businesses that offer of it. Meaning, no hookers walking the street searching for clients, but instead have private businesses that offer the service of girls/guys in a controlled manner.
Not only does the government not have any right to tell people of age what to do with their bodies or whom to partner with, which is the biggest argument point, a safe dealing place would eliminate many of the problems with prostitutes now including STDs and other illnesses that come b/c people don't know if the girl is diseased or not or because people have sex in sleazy motels and other types of places.
It would also put a great dent in current prostitution tactics such as having girls roam poor neighborhoods b/c smart people aren't going to get with a random girl off the street when they can instead have one in a controlled environment and know that the girl is clean.
Of course if this type of business did become legal, there should be strong regulations on them such as getting girls tested, forcing use of condoms, cleaning, sheets, beds, and other furnitures, etc
I agree completely with all you've said here and I believe that if prostitution were legal there would be no need for
streetwalking as it presently occurs in our sexually uptight culture.
I often watch a tv documentary called,
COPS, which affords a unique insight into the nature of the increasingly authoritarian nature of American society. While there occasionally are examples of admirable and efficient police work, for the most part the COPS episodes show arrests for petty offenses, typically possession of drugs, DUI and disorderly conduct. But a recent episode covered an outrageous and infuriating example of misuse of police power, that of an elaborate street-level vice operation which is best described as brazen entrapment.
This operation involved six police officers, including an attractive female who was dressed in a mini-skirt and tight halter. This babe's job was to stroll back and forth on a street in a neighborhood known for "curb service." When a man pulled up in a car or approached her on foot she would engage him in a friendly and inviting manner, eventually leading him to offer her money for sex. At that point four male cops would descend, handcuff the
john and read him his rights.
Now if anything one might see on television which could cause one to hate cops, this is it. In fact I'm surprised the agency engaged in such operations allow them to be filmed. And while there are loopholes that sanction the practice, in spirit they are clear-cut examples of malicious entrapment.
First, the decoy was not only exceptionally attractive, she did nothing to discourage the men she enticed from eventually offering her money. In fact her behavior and conversation clearly encouraged it.
The first of her dupes was a small, skinny, timid and rather homely fellow who clearly wouldn't stand a chance of getting laid without paying for it. To arrest this poor wretch for trying to do just that is nothing short of a goddam shame, yet the behavior of this squad of vice cops at the end of their shift was similar to that of a winning sports team, complete with high fives.
Of course the rationale for such underhanded and truly disgraceful "police work" is it's necessary to "clean up the neighborhood." But the truth is there would be nothing to clean up if prostitution were legal, controlled, monitored and taxed.