Should prostitution be legalized?

[jookkor]

Legalizing prostitution could I think have a very positive impact on some areas by driving illegal prostitution out of buisiness. Obviously there would have to be legal brothels set up, what else could you do make the hookers walk around with meters in their pockets?
Its possible that Johns would favor these establishments that would preserve their anonymity rather then risk criminal charges and the free market would force prostitutes to join these buisnisses or find a new line of work.
If this happened then much of the crime revolving around prostitution (protection, gangs and individuals fighting over territory, coercion through intimidation, threats, seduction, and the big one drugs, and also abuse and violence against the women themselves) would wane in many areas. Of course drugs would still play a role in many womens decisions to take up the trade but the impact of addictions as a recruiting tool would be significantly reduced in my opinion, and I think we would see prostitution becoming something that really was more of a career choice and less of an all-encompassing lifestyle of self degragation and destruction.

[vasudeva]

If a person is under 25 years of age, the government can cut all support except the monthly housing reimbursement and non-cash benefits. A person is required to take any legal job. A special morality clause, however, ensures that unemployed will not be forced into prostitution -- which is legal and regulated in Germany.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,156 ... 10,00.html

[Fobbon Lazyfoot]

I'm pretty sure the crime rate would go up in areas of legalized prositution. All those restrictions would probably drive the cost way up. What happens when a man who thinks of women as nothing more than sexual objects dosen't have enough money for sex? Well, he goes and gets it - forcefully.

Course this is just my reasoning. I'd try and find crime rate stuff from Nevada to back it up but i'm lazy.

[jookkor]

Fobbon, in my experience the Low track's always had WAY more crime and violence attatched to them then the Higher class strolls. And the type of a person who would violently rape another person typically is motivated by more then sexual release.