Legalized boinking

I'm kind of relieved to see this whole Spitzer thing come up. Mostly, it means I can turn on the news without hearing the term "delegate-rich state" enough times to projectile vomit all over Anderson Cooper's consternated face (and by consternated, I mean the Webster dictionary alternative definition, to look constipated). But I also enjoy it, because you gotta figure that somewhere this conversation is going to turn to legalizing prostitution.

Seriously, why do we have so many laws that actually increase crime? By legalizing prostitution and bringing it out into the mainstream, we'll reduce violent crime, underage sex and the spread of STDs. As a business, it would be regulated and forced to uphold standards. There would be set age limits and everyone involved would be screened/forced to wear protection. Sure, there would still be underground elements for the really freaky stuff (as Tracy Morgan so aptly stated, "Freaky-deaky's need love too... freaky-deaky's need love too"), stuff that couldn't be legalized, but these establishments would have to compete with legitimate operations. Compare this to the current practice, where someone just keeps driving until they find a person that looks cracked out enough to do anything.

Plus, it seems like there's already a pretty major loophole out there. Namely, you can still pay a person to perform sexual acts, just as long as you tape the activity and distribute it to neon-lit stores open 24 hours. I don't understand why someone doesn't just set up a porn studio and hold open auditions. You just happen to have a hot dog stand where you charge like $500 for a Hebrew National. I don't know why I went right for hot dogs there, but you get the idea.

I understand there's a real issue with objectifying women. Alright, I'll give you that. However, I still say its better than the current situation, where women are herded up by an abusive criminal and exploited even more so. At least with legalization, women can cut out the middle man or even unionize.