[Happy Monkey]

Originally posted by mrnoodle
So, who's right? Certainly not all viewpoints can be equally valid, since at least two of them are mutually exclusive of one another.

Actually, no they're not. The people who oppose it on religious grounds shouldn't do it. The others should take into account the reaction of their significant other, if any. There's no difference in that sense between that and, say, not keeping Kosher. A big problem for the deeply religious, could be painful for loved ones, and if you're unattatched, who's gonna know or care? The problem only arises when the religious people try to stop other people from doing it.

Prostitution encourages the spread of disease, breaks up relationships, and is tied to all kinds of other anti-social behavior, from hard drug use to petty theft to murder. Unless you don't have a brain, you have to admit that much. Maybe the answer is to legalize it and let it fall under government regulation and supervision. The US government can't even regulate the senatorial haircut budget, much less the world's oldest occupation. Please.

Don't be so quick to denigrate the police. Everything illegal gets tied together. Prostitutes only need pimps because they need protection - from predators and from police. If it was legal, they could set up a safety-oriented facility, with medical testing facilities and good security. In fact they've done this with the Bunny Ranch (nsfw) in Nevada, where there have been no drug, theft, murder, or disease problems. I vaguely recall some tax problems, but that hardly separates them from any other business (except perhaps in the zeal for enforcement).

I can already feel the condescending, negative vibes from some of you; not just because I'm being a little sanctimonious, but because I'm invoking my "fairy-tale, white-bearded imaginary friend" -- worse yet, I have been capitalizing pronouns referring to Him. Isn't that just precious?

Hey, I do the same thing. It's no skin off my nose, it's a harmless convention, and it can sometimes sort out pronoun ambiguity.

(puts little train back on tracks) My point is that I get frustrated when people snigger at the fact that I believe there is a God who will hold us accountable for what we do.

If you run into those people, ignore them. But please try not to ignore people who don't share your faith, and therefore don't want to be bound by the aspects of morality that are justified only by your faith. Just as the US government doesn't require all food to be Kosher, it should not support the religious strictures against homosexuality (to mention one current event). People within a religion can subject themselves to that religion's rules, but the religion must not attempt to force it's rules on others.