Prostitution should be legalized in the United States.

I will be using a dual overlaying teleological/constitutional argument for the legalization of prostitution. In this project I will borrow the harm principle, as articulated by John Stewart Mill, to argue that the only reasonable circumstance in which a government can limit a citizen's liberty is to prevent that person from causing harm to others. This view when taken to its logical conclusion would entail the legalization of prostitution.

Contention 1: The Harm Principle

For the sake of convenience I will grant to my opponent that prostitution may harm its participants albeit inadvertently. What conclusions can we draw from this? Clearly we can't conclude that prostitution should be outlawed solely on the basis of its potentially being harmful to its consenting patrons. If we were to take this route then we would also have to outlaw cigarettes, alcohol, skydiving, and driving. Alcohol has no known medical uses and its dangerous levels of consumption can be achieved rather easily. Its contribution to murders, lethal car accidents, violent crimes and property damage is beyond dispute because it generally releases the inhibitions of those that take it. [1] Any coherent argument against prostitution that would leave alcohol legalized would be a masterpiece of political engineering. Indeed, the harm principle clears prostitution because it is incapable of harming anyone aside from those that willingly choose to engage in it.

Contention 2: The Offense Principle

Shall our government limit liberties on the basis that certain actions will offend others? Not if we wish to remain consistent with the bill of rights. At no point in the bill of rights is anyone guaranteed the right not to be offended. Secondly, people will inevitably take offense to nearly anything, which renders the offense principle entirely relative. The offense principle provides no objective basis for limiting liberty because different things will always offend different people. And if it were taken to its logical conclusion the offense principle could lead to us outlawing minority religions like Islam, pornography, mini skirts, chewing gum, backwards baseball hats and nearly anything imaginable.

Contention 3: The Utility Factor

Like it or not people love sex. Some like it a bit too much, but hey, who am I to judge. Sex provides happiness and gratification to those that freely enjoy it. To deny people their right to enjoy sex for money is to deny them their right to pursue happiness as they see fit. The only rational thing that can be said about our collective aversion to prostitution is that we, as a society, have systematically demonized everything that could possibly exceed the pleasure of prayer or pro creative sex.

Contention 4: Constitutionality

As free people we have the right to pursue happiness as we see fit insofar as this behavior doesn't injure innocent bystanders. We do not, for instance, have the freedom to drive down the freeway blindfolded even if this behavior were to produce copious amounts of happiness in the driver. The problem with prostitution is not in the act itself it is within each of us. Prostitution between consenting adults infringes upon no one else's rights and this much is beyond dispute. The declaration of independence guarantees our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. [2] To deny or infringe these rights in any way without sound reason is unconstitutional and it is unfair. We have a constitution to guarantee us freedom from the tyranny of the majority. It follows from this that we are not at liberty to deny people rights merely because we find their behavior to be sordid.

In this context it is important to reflect upon the fact that our constitution says nothing about prostitution and certain passages of the Constitution stipulate that a sound argument can be made for prostitution with the following articles: [3] – [4]

�Article I, Section 10: "No State shall pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts."
�Article VI: "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States... shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby; anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding... All executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution."
�Amendment IX: "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
�Amendment X: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
�Amendment XIII, Section 1: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Contention 5: Potential Rebuttals Addressed

Arguments about child prostitution will be disregarded because my argument focuses on consenting adults.

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Sexually transmitted diseases will spread if we legalize prostitution.
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Even if this were true- (which I don't think it is)- it doesn't logically follow that prostitution should be illegal. If our government were to divert its resources to go after prostitutes merely because they may have STDS then in order to avoid being hypocritical we would also have to prosecute sexually promiscuous people. Surely there are ordinary citizens that engage in more sex than prostitutes. The notion that cops would regulate ordinary peoples sexual behavior for the "greater good" is as ridiculous as it is obscene. And yet this would be the exact world we would be beckoned to if we were to casually regulate people's sex lives on the basis that they could infect other people.

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Conclusion
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Victimless crimes are as repugnant as they are pervasive in our society and if we seek to take steps to ending the mindset that creates them then we should do the right thing and legalize prostitution.

Defining terms

Prostitution is defined as the act of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for money or goods. (http://en.wikipedia.org...)

Harm principle (as articulated by J.S. Mill)- a government can only limit the liberty and rights of its citizens in order to prevent citizens from harming each other.
(http://en.wikipedia.org...)

Sources

[1] http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu...

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org...

[3] http://www.earlyamerica.com...

[4] http://www.buildfreedom.com...