Madam, I'm Adam....

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Around these parts, there is a lot of talk on the news programs about a "Madam" who was running a "cat-house" in a building in Manhattan. There are blow by blow reports on how they arrested an upstate NY woman for running a brothel in the city (Manhattan) and how they put her bail at $2 million and how they won't let her out of jail even though a local lawyer put up his mansion as collateral. There are also reports on how they are "talking" to her second in command (her lawyer professes her innocence).

All this prosecution and scandal all begs the questions I have for them:

1) Is there no more important crime within the boundaries of New York City than prostitution?
2) Are our prisons so empty that we need to keep a woman in prison because she made a living from men's weakness?
And, most importantly:
3) In this day and age, why is prostitution still a crime?

Every time a story on this comes up on the news, all I can say is, "Who cares?" I don't care that this woman was a Madam. I don't care that she was running a brothel. I do think it would be better if there was zoning in the city for a "red light" district. I do wish they would legalize brothels and regulate them. I do wish they would be required to pay for medical treatment and blood tests that would make this process safer. And, if it were legal, it could be taxed: Sales tax, income tax, excise tax, you name it. This would lift some of the tax burden from the poor and middle class.

We have a perfect model for legalizing prostitution. We have Nevada. Use Nevada as a model for legalizing prostitution.

This case seems, to me, to be the perfect time to introduce such a law. Why should (mostly women) prostitutes be put in prison? Why aren't the "clients" put in prison? (Hint: Maybe because they're mostly men and often politically powerful?) From my perspective, going to a prostitute shouldn't be a legality issue. I think using a prostitute should be between a husband and wife, a man and his significant other, not a matter for law enforcement. Let's legalize prostitution and regulate and tax it. This is a moral matter, not a legal matter. Let's place it where it belongs and stop demonizing prostitution.