Should The United States Legalize Prostitution?

Some say prostitution is the world 's oldest profession. Yet, only a small percentage of the world’s government allows it. The legalization of prostitution is a very controversial topic due to many people’s moral beliefs. Prostitutes all over the world are treated as outcasts. A reason for people to be against prostitution could be due to their religious beliefs, moral standpoints, or lack of knowledge over the subject. Many religions state that sex outside of marriage is a sin and those who do it should be looked down upon. Due to these beliefs people tend to be against the legalization of prostitution. Though there are many facts that show that prostitution should be legalized. Prostitution should be legalized in the United States because then it can be regulated, would help the economy, and would lower the prison population and crimes against prostitutes.

My paper will present the debatable question, should prostitution be legal in Las Vegas? As I argue for the issue, the reader must know that there is a misconceived idea that the city of sins, Las Vegas, is home to legal prostitution. In contrary to popular belief, prostitution is not legal in Las Vegas; there are rural areas in Nevada where brothels are running and prostitution is condoned, but in the county of Clark, it is the opposite. Although it may not be true, legalizing prostitution can bring Las Vegas and the people who work in such a profession multiple benefits. Any person who resides in this city of lights is aware of the busy streets that are filled with prostitution occurring even though the law is against it. Whether it 's the unkempt streetwalker or the high class escort, this seems to be a booming operation.

Prostitution flourishes in territories that have a high crime rate, along these lines, cops and courts are overburdened with these cases, having next to zero effect on prostitution. The sex workers and their clients pay their fines and are back to the boulevards right away in a rotating door process. Law enforcement is occupied with adding prostitution to the rundown of things to shield us from, the genuine violations go unchecked and unchallenged. Not with standing if prostitution were legitimate, police would have less work attempting to dispose of prostitution and additional time shielding people from far more heinous crimes. "It is estimated that if prostitution were legalized in the United States, the rape rate would decrease by roughly 25% for a decrease of approximately 25,000 rapes per year. The analysis seems to support that the rape rate could be lowered if prostitution was more readily available. This would be accomplished in most countries by its legalization (Sexual Violence Such as Rape)."

Those opposing the legalization of prostitution believe that there are several reasons why the United States should not legalize the buying and selling of sexual acts. If prostitution were legal, sex trafficking in the United States would surge (Bruckert and Hannem 47). In order to avoid being taxed, entrepreneurs would simply kidnap girls and sell them into an underground trafficking system, making a business of their own (Perer 829). Children and teens would be abducted, forced to take drugs, and forced to prostitute themselves for the profit of their kidnapper (Bruckert and Hannem 47; Perer 829). Sex trafficking would be used to avoid the use of sexual protection. Johns will pay more for a girl who does not make them use a condom, and this alone could spark a new interest for sex trafficking (Perer 830). Sex trafficking is a horrible industry that most abducted girls never make it out of, and legalizing prostitution will only make it worse (Wagenaar and Altink 280).

In the United States, with the exception of Nevada, prostitution and sex work is illegal. If taxed and regulated, it can bring more benefits not only to the economy but to smaller aspects as well, such as health care and crime rates as opposed to keeping it illegal and penalizing it. Therefore, prostitution and sex work should be legalized in the United States. Prostitution is viewed as bad thing within society, morally; yet the many benefits are often not spoken of, which are that prostitution would lower sexually transmitted diseases and crime rate all while improving health care and the economy. Prostitution is legal within 61 countries, 22 out of the 25 safest countries to live in prostitution is legal according to Procon.org and worldatlas.com.

Being the oldest profession, prostitution will create employment opportunities for many workers and also be a significant source of revenue for the nation (Weitzer, 2011, p. 9). It is significant to note that until today, prostitution-associated businesses are not eligible to paying tax in the US. Legalizing prostitution will enable county authorities to have a legal platform for collecting tax from brothels among other adult entertainment businesses. Such generated revenue would help the authorities facilitate development projects. This would boost the economy and improve the quality of service delivery to all citizens.

Whether or not the United States should legalize prostitution is a highly debated social, political, ethical, and cultural issue. Prostitution by definition is to engage in sexual activity with someone for payment. Although many countries and even some rural counties in the U.S. have legalized prostitution, it still has dire effects on the women involved and is an immoral and exploitative act. Prostitution is an unethical and immoral act of exploitative, degrading, and abusive work that the United States should not tolerate. The abolition of prostitution is a legal approach with proven positive results that could dramatically reduce the amount of illegal prostitution and human trafficking taking place in the United States.

Sexual services have been part of societies for millennia. They date back to as early as ancient Mesopotamia, in which females were spiritually obligated to demonstrate Babylonian hospitality by engaging foreigner in sexual intercourse. Over time, the subject of prostitution has surfaced in spiritual and social discussion, and more recently into legal and moral discourses with an emphasis on the rights of sex workers. Since the recent phenomenon of advanced women’s rights through rigorous activist groups in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, propelling the advancement of women’s rights movements began to immerge in the first world. At its core, prostitution is not an individual issue, but rather, a societal issue, and

Within our society laws are created to limit and deter individuals from harming others or themselves. However, crimes such as recreational drug use and prostitution do not harm individuals but in the eyes of the law they are looked down upon due to consequences associated with drug use and promiscuous sex. Additionally, individuals arrested for marijuana usage and even prostitution make up a fair amount of the prison population. As a result of this, there have been several protests calling for the decriminalization and or legalization of these crimes. Though it has been a long battle calling for decriminalization, some countries or even states in the U.S. have worked on fully decriminalizing marijuana and prostitution for important reasons

“Prostitution is one of the worlds oldest professions” (Kipling 1) and still has quiet a relevance in today’s society. However, unlike this primitive profession, a not-so-old debate is whether or not the United States should legalize prostitution. Prostitution is seen from many different viewpoints and although there is clear evidence of the damage that it puts on society, along with tarnishing the morals of Americans. Concerning America and its people, prostitution should not be legalized in any way.

Prostitution would be much safer in the United States if it were legalized. A study was done in the 1980’s that found that around 124 sex workers were murdered every year in the United States (“Atlantic City Prostitutes Taking Precautions as Death Toll Rises”). If the states would legalize prostitution within brothels only, measures could be taken to keep the prostitutes

In recent articles and news reports in the United States, many people are debating if Prostitution should be legalized or remain illegal. A lot of women are driven to prostitution to support their family or to satisfy their sex drive. There are a lot of comments made about prostitution on whether prostitution is considered a job or an sex offense to women. Many people don’t agree with Prostitution being considered a job because it is disrespectful to women, or some people see it as a way of support especially when they are the only family provider. But some people don’t understand that if Prostitution is Legalized that gives the sex industry a gateway to expand. In addition The United States Government should not legalize prostitution because

The sex industry is highly divided between those who call themselves “sex workers”, and former prostitutes who call themselves “survivors” (Glazer 340). Women should have the right to choose what they do for a living, including prostitution. The criminalization of prostitution does more harm than good when often women are left unprotected, both socially and legally, and therefore, the United States should make efforts to decriminalize and regulate prostitution instead.

Prostitution is defined as the act of “providing or receiving sexual acts, between a prostitute and a client, in exchange for money or some other form of remuneration” (Hock 557). The idea of exchanging sex for valuables has been around since the beginning of human society. The first reported data about prostitution was reported around 3000 B.C.E in one of the first known civilizations, Mesopotamia (Caraboi and Fierbinteanu 362). It is often referred to as “the world’s oldest profession.” Today, even though prostitution is illegal in most parts of the world, it is still prevalent worldwide with different ways to exchange sexual services for payment and many different types of prostitutes. One of these types of prostitutes are brothel workers; brothel workers work in “a house of prostitution,” a brothel, which are normally in areas where prostitution is not criminalized or is legalized (Hock 560). Like prostitution, human trafficking has been around for thousands of years and is still present today.

Prostitution. Streetwalking. The sex trade. The sex industry. Whoring. Hooking. Et Cetera. The exchange of sexual activities for money. Prostitution is probably one of, if not the oldest taboos in our culture, and for good reason. Often times, prostitution is monitored in places called brothels, meeting places for finding prostitutes and sex in general. This scandalous practice is currently legal in many parts of the world, i.e. Germany, most of South America, Spain, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, here and there in Africa, Mexico and many more. It’s been legalized in many places, but why should a profession like this be outlawed? Well, there are many pros as to why prostitution should be abolished. A) Legalization of prostitution is an invitation to human trafficking and slavery. B) Legalization would attract more customers, promoting affairs and divorce. C) Prostitution is degrading. It turns woman into commodities, thus making them nothing but items to be used. I don’t think it would be a good thing to have more divorced couples, more human slaves and more sexism in America. Do you?