Legalization of Prostitution

The legalization of prostitution has been a scandalous topic of controversy since the American society first started to plant its roots. Although it's one of the world's oldest vocations (dating back to the Phoenician era in 1200BC), prostitution is still a taboo prospect that has been forced into an underground business in the United States culture. Yet, legalizing this form of work would be beneficial to our society as it would allow the trade to bring in a steady profit and regulate the health of the prostitutes as well as their johns, seeing as it also is not constitutionally illegal.

As of now, prostitution is done and paid through on the black market, and this provides absolutely no economic gain to society. If prostitution was to be legally recognized, an influx of revenue would result. In fact, the trade of prostitution rakes in a solid $18billion annually. According to the statistics of Amsterdam, Holland's income, their legalization of prostitution brings them $100million in profits annually. Seeing as sex is a natural driving instinct of human behavior, there would never be shortages of customers as an average 2million people seek the services of an escort in the United States daily. Considering this, if the United States was to legalize prostitution, the government could stamp a hospitality tax on it, a tax notably higher than the average sales tax.

Subsequently, decriminalizing prostitution and making it a valid occupation would create a much safer environment for both the buyer and the seller. Regulations would be put into place to allow the state to request regular mandatory health examinations from the prostitute to screen for STIs. The johns seeking the service would be more reassured that they would not be receiving "damaged goods" so-to-speak. With that being said, contraceptives, such as, birth control and condoms would also be a binding factor in the line of work. Both regulations in turn would lower the quantity of STIs being spread as well as unplanned pregnancies within the prostitution community.

Constitutionally speaking, prostitution is a sexual service performed by two consenters, one of which receives the service while the latter receives payment. As it does not infringe upon anyone's rights nor directly harm anyone else, prostitution should be legal. The laws prohibiting such acts have proven to be futile as, according to arrest figures, "over 100,000, and over 1 million people in the US have worked as prostitutes, or about 0.5% of the US..." The laws surrounding this issue only make prostitution, like any other unauthorized substances or illicit businesses, appear in the underground commerce systems which make it dangerous for all involved. Just like in the instance of the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s, ways of creating, selling, and consuming the substance still commenced, regardless of the laws forbidding it. Even more so, the