Should Prostitution be Legalized in the United States?

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Prostitution is an issue that has been debated in many countries. 22 countries have legalized prostitution. In the United States, prostitution is only legal in 11 rural counties in Nevada. It used to be legal in Rhode Island due to a loophole, but since 2009, it has been illegal 1. Women are not the only ones who are prostitutes, about 20 to 30% of prostitutes are male 2, which means both genders are affected by laws against prostitution. Men and women should be allowed to choose how they want to use their bodies how they wish, and that includes prostitution.
People deserve the freedom of choice. While some question the morality of prostitution, citing the Bible or other religious texts, people such as Catherine La Croix, founder and executive director of Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics (COYOTE), say that “Sex work is no more moral or immoral than the chocolate or distilling industries”. In the argument of Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan, in the Supreme court case of USA vs. Bitty, said that “the lives and example of such persons are in hostility to 'the idea of the family as consisting in and springing from the union for life of one man and one woman in the holy estate of matrimony” 3. That argument that Harlan made is based on his religious beliefs, not on evidence. Prostitution is famously known as the oldest profession in the world and if prostitution is “wrong”, then why can people drink or smoke freely? Our laws should not be based on morality or religious text, they should be based on the people, the community, a grassroots campaign where the legality of prostitution is chosen by the people, who overwhelmingly support prostitution with 84.53% of people on a Huffington Post poll voting for the legalization of prostitu...

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...t." Humanity In Action. http://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/312-the-audacity-of-tolerance-a-critical-analysis-of-legalized-prostitution-in-amsterdam-s-red-light-district (accessed March 16, 2014).
Penn State University. "The Definition and Facts of Prostitution." Women's Studies 001 Prostitutes. https://www.courses.psu.edu/wmnst/wmnst001_atd1/Prostitution/facts.html (accessed March 12, 2014).
"Top 10 Pros and Cons - Prostitution - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. http://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000115 (accessed March 14, 2014).
Walsh, Jemima. "The World's First Prostitutes' Union." The World's First Prostitutes' Union. http://www.walnet.org/csis/news/world_96/mclaire-9601.html (accessed March 16, 2014).
Weitzer, Ronald John. Legalizing Prostitution: From Illicit Vice to Lawful Business. New York: New York University Press, 2012.

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