That it's ok to be a prostitute and that it's ok to be a prostitute without consequence.

You can't legislate morality. I mean, you can try, but it will never succeed.

It is going to happen whether or not it is legal, why not make it safer?

Sure, make it safer, just not in my city.

You'd rather for it to be dangerous in your city?

Ah, NIMBY! You've done me so good for so long!

All laws are legislating morality. On what foundation do you think they stand if not morality?

Couldn't we say that any crime is going to happen anyway, so why not make it safer?

Ideally, I think there has to be a compelling reason why the state is granted the right to restrict individual liberty when we make laws, but to pretend that most criminal law is based on something other than morality seems goofy.

It's already dangerous to be a prostitute.

The bottom line is I don't want prostitution to be legal in my city.

It wouldn't already be dangerous if it was already controlled, so why don't you want it to be controlled?

Also, why do you not want it in your city? I mean, it isn't like people would be forcing you to purchase or sell. It doesn't affect you and it makes it safer for the people who do purchase those services and those that sell them.

I have voiced here before that I think things that do not interfere with someone else's civil rights should be legal. This would include prostitution. Who is the victim in prostitution? Not the prostitute, not the john. Prostitutes are sometimes victims of their pimps as teen runaways, part of the slave trade, etc, but that would be greatly reduced if it were legalized. Besides the health benefits for participants (and therefore, reduced medical costs for tax payers), we could tax it.

Yeah, but any regulation you put in place kind of creates a black market in avoiding that regulation.

I don't really care about prostitution's legality at all. I wouldn't expect benefits from legalizing it and I don't think there are very many benefits to keeping it illegal.

I see your argument AGDee when we're talking about prostitution of the Eliot Spitzer-whore level. But when you think about street level prostitutes, associated drug use, and abusive pimps, it's a whole lot less a personal freedom argument and a whole lot more a public nuisance kind of thing, as well as maybe an unacceptable risk to the women involved, no matter how well regulated.

And I don't want the government involved in regulating prostitution.

The government is already regulating it by making it illegal. I think it would greatly reduce the street level issue.

Some women give it away freely, others charge for it. They are all at risk. It's not illegal to be promiscuous, so why should it be illegal to charge money for it? Just things to think about.

It does affect me. I grew up here. I pay taxes here. I donate to FREE/low cost services these prostitutes use. It's MY city and I want it CLEAN. I and my fellow San Franciscans have EVERY right to that.

What's the problem with that? How would you like it if this happened in your city?

We're mixing metaphors here - you mean "CLEAN" like "MORAL" and she means it like "SAFE."

Well, since prostitution does happen in my city, I would have the reservations listed above, but would be cautiously optimistic that it's a step toward a better life for everybody involved.

Then again, I don't think buying sex is immoral, just a poor use of resources (shots and a gym membership are cheaper).

To me regulation is a whole lot more involved that merely prohibiting it. Are you going to have OSHA rules, pay workman's comp? Who tests for STDs and documents results, and who verifies that woman working are within whatever rules make it safer? AND then you still have all the issues related to what happens when people break whatever regulations exists.

I don't think women who "give it away freely" are associated with most of the issues of street prostitution, for whatever reasons.

But as I said, I really don't have a preference on legality or illegality. I just don't expect much societal gain from a change.

No it doesn't affect you, (maybe it does in the MOST INDIRECT way.) (And by the way, San Fran is one of the safer metropolitan cities.)

Prostitution does happen in my city. Prostitution happens everywhere. If it was decriminalized (not legalized, just not a prosecutorial offense anymore), I would be glad that the city wasn't wasting my tax money and police time to try to keep the city moral.