Should Arizona legalize prostitution? (buying, legally, safer)

[elvira310]

Funny, the other day I was investigating more about Nevada (I'm thinking of moving to either Nevada or Arizona) and read this about the brothels in Nevada. After having read the criticisms, I voted no.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosti...vada#Criticism

[Hschlick84]

The reason I brought this up is because of the recent death of Dennis Hof and being a Pro-Trump Republican. This is a reminder that things don't have to be status quo. He was a Phoenix native and a big supporter of Ron Paul in the past. If anything, president Trump should be on board 100% with decriminalizing brothels nationwide. He is the man of women, money, casinos and big fame. 3rd wave feminists and tradcons dislike the idea, but the hell with it.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/16/pro-...ter-rally.html

[KurtAZ]

Why would Trump "be on board" because one of his supporters is a pimp?

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Hschlick84

It's taboo to certain people but it's legal in most of non-urban Nevada, some European countries (Germany, Switzerland, Hungary), parts of Australia and some counties in South America.

Benefits are more jobs, reduced sex trafficking, reduce violence against women, its a victim-less crime and with the recent wave of 3rd wave Feminism, its a place for men to let off some steam.

'Sex workers in Nevada have to get monthly tests for syphilis and HIV and weekly tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia. Nevada also requires condoms for all sex in brothels. This law is posted on the outside of the state's brothels, according to the paper by Barbara Brents and Kathryn Hausbeck of the University of Nevada.'

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-...tution-2013-11

Should Arizona go the route of legalizing it in rural areas similar to Nevada like Mohave, La Paz, Navaho, Apache, Graham and Greenlee counties or do statewide? Legalized brothels in Mohave county would get clients from Las Vegas to drive to Kingman.

With the economy booming under Trump, he should take advantage of this. He ought to decriminalize it and let the states come up with their own ballots and let the people decide how to vote on it.

Agree 100%. To me, prostitution is in the same category as marijuana, gambling, guns, and other so called "vices": outlaw them, and only outlaws will have access to them. I see nothing wrong with the way it's done in Nevada. Yes, Dennis Hof was an arrogant jerk, and the way he treated women was highly questionable, but he was still a shrewd businessman who was highly successful in what he did (much like Trump).

Another thing which the Nevada "vices" have done is eliminated the need for a state income tax. The revenue from the hotel/casino industry pays for a lot of Nevada's services, and a fair amount of revenue from legal marijuana & brothels also contributes to this. If Arizona legalized gambling, recreational marijuana, and prostitution, we also could get rid of the income tax, as well as possibly reduce other taxes. I say definitely YES to legalized prostitution, and YES to legalization of most other "vices".

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Why would Trump "be on board" because one of his supporters is a pimp?

If Trump is a true conservative Republican who favors free enterprise over government control, then he would be on board to get rid of the government restrictions on it as well as marijuana. Unfortunately, because he's now a Republican, he has to pander to the so called moral religious wing of the party, who more than likely would be dead set against legalization (even though many of them have either used escort type of services, and/or had extramarital affairs).

[KurtAZ]

Hmm...I think that is a stretch.

[cactusland]

The way I see it, the people that would even consider these services are the same people that would consider them regardless of legality. Might as well tax and regulate it.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by breakingbad

Of all the ex-prostitutes I met as a therapist, I can't think of one who thought it enhanced their lives. Their kids suffered the consequences too. So from a women's perspective no.

This has always been my feeling......it is a rabbit hole of bad decisions on everyone's part.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by cactusland

The way I see it, the people that would even consider these services are the same people that would consider them regardless of legality. Might as well tax and regulate it.

The glitch: The pricing at legal brothels seems to be already significantly higher than "street pricing" so at some point the legal brothels price themselves out of the market. Even in areas of Nevada where it is totally legal, I suspect the illegal practices have sales that are atleast 10 to 1 to legal sales. Start adding taxes/higher cost regulations and suddenly the worlds oldest profession might "go out of business!"

On the show "cat house/HBO" standard sex was over $1,000. Browse any escort ads online and see that that is easily 3-5X the normal asking rate. Not sure if the TV show scripted high prices to make it look more lucrative but it seems like crazy pricing for the same thing and those cat house girls were not exactly "10s"

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

The glitch: The pricing at legal brothels seems to be already significantly higher than "street pricing" so at some point the legal brothels price themselves out of the market. Even in areas of Nevada where it is totally legal, I suspect the illegal practices have sales that are atleast 10 to 1 to legal sales. Start adding taxes/higher cost regulations and suddenly the worlds oldest profession might "go out of business!"

On the show "cat house/HBO" standard sex was over $1,000. Browse any escort ads online and see that that is easily 3-5X the normal asking rate. Not sure if the TV show scripted high prices to make it look more lucrative but it seems like crazy pricing for the same thing and those cat house girls were not exactly "10s"

OK, but look at it this way: in Vegas where prostitution is illegal, there are numerous escorts who offer the same thing at a much cheaper rate, but the catch is: a good share of those "escorts" are drug addicts and/or infected with STDs. Also, some of those Vegas "escorts" are really undercover cops who will arrest you once the money is paid, and you just wasted several hundred dollars on nothing except a trip to the local jail. It works the same way in Phoenix or any other city where it's illegal.

So which is better and safer: hiring a "back page" type of escort & taking a chance on contracting STDs or being arrested, OR going to a legal brothel where you pay more, but are assured the women are disease free? Think about it. Legal prostitution would come with some government regulation like it does in Nevada, but other "vices" like alcohol, gambling, marijuana, and guns are also heavily regulated. You're still going to have a black market regardless of legality, but I'd rather go the safe route and get these things the legal way than through underground methods. In the end, you get what you pay for!

[flint8ball]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

They did it illegally, so how would they be further harmed by legalizing it? How would legalizing it have changed their fate other than keeping them safer and cleaner? Your comments speak to the merits of prostitution, not the legal implications.

Well said. I can imagine that illegal prostitution and the stigma/abuse that accompanies it would cause problems for those involved.

Prostitution should absolutely be legal. Why isn't it?... People have foisted their "morality" on others. Heck, lemonade stands and garage sales are legal....what's the difference?...that actually matters.