Prostitution should be legal

First of all, did you even look at the structure I proposed? With this, we'll be unable to provide rebuttals, as your next round is going to be your opening statements and I'll have to waive the last round. Why do I have to post my argument before yours? You instigated the debate! You should've known that you'd have to go first. Anyway, here are my arguments for prostitution. A. Reduction of Crime I. Rhode Island's Prostitution and Its Effects on Rape and STDsIn Rhode Island, for nearly three decades, prostitution was practically legal through a loophole in the law. "...examined rates of rape and STDs in Rhode Island from about 2003, the year a court case exposed the inadvertent legalization, to 2009, when the loophole was closed."Their paper, Decriminalizing Indoor Prostitution: Implications for Sexual Violence and Public Health, published recently by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that the world's oldest profession prospered after 2003, when folks realized it was essentially legit." [1] What did the authors find through this study? "The pair found that rape decreased by almost one-third, down 31 percent. Gonorrhea decreased by 39 percent." [1] This was in Rhode Island alone! Can this not be an example for the rest of America to follow?II. Sex Trafficking Reduction"Itâ€™s estimated that there are around 30 million victims of human trafficking around the world. More than half of the victims (55 percent) are women or girls."According to the International Labor Organization, human trafficking generates around $150 billion per year. Two-thirds of this money ($99 billion) comes from commercial sexual exploitation."The United States is not immune to the perils of this disgusting industry. Somewhere between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States every year. The vast majority of these individuals are trafficked for sex work." [2]But does prostitution reduce this? In fact, yes! In one example, after Germany made prostitution legal, sex trafficking went down by about 10%. [3] B. MoneyI. Saving MoneyIn the United States, Nevada is the only state to currently allow prostitution. The rest of the U.S has made prostitution illegal. Despite this, money can certainly be saved if only it was legal. "In the U.S., law enforcement agencies spend at least $2,000 for each arrest of a sex worker â€" that includes the arrest, court, and imprisonment costs. And with the vast number of sex workers in the country, it costs the government more than $120 million a year on prostitution control." [4]That makes for a hefty price tag, especially when you consider that there are one million prostitutes in America alone. [5] If it was illegal in the United States, all this money could be saved. II. Making MoneyThis is a simple argument. In America, illegal prostitution businesses don't pay any taxes. However, if brothels were made legal, then they can be made to pay taxes like any other business. "Since counties began legalizing prostitution in the early 1970s, they have been reaping an economic benefit from a variety of brothel-related revenue sources, including licensing fees, property tax, work card fees and liquor licenses. In total the sources pump more than $10 million into county coffers annually, according to one state study." [6]C. Prostitution Is A Victimless CrimeIn prostitution, no one is necessarily harmed as long as it's two consenting adults. So, in a way, it's similar to porn but without the camera. Both are seen as a career where you engage in sexual acts for money. How are they different? (Besides the obvious lack of media.) "'Prostitution should not be a crime. Prostitutes are not committing an inherently harmful act. While the spread of disease and other detriments are possible in the practice of prostitution, criminalization is a sure way of exacerbating rather than addressing such effects. We saw this quite clearly in the time of alcohol prohibition in this country."'...What makes prostitution a "victimless crime" in the sense that no one is necessarily harmed by it is that there are consenting adults involved.;'" [7]D. Free ChoiceAgain, like I said before, prostitution isn't inherently or intentionally trying to hurt anyone. Why can't it be legal, as long as it doesn't restrict the freedoms of others. It's their body, so they should be allowed to go along with their lives however they see fit. ConclusionThank you. I look forward to your opening statements. Good bye. Citations[1]http://www.laweekly.com...[2]http://elitedaily.com...[3]http://www.thedailybeast.com...[4]http://www.listland.com...[5]http://www.businessinsider.com...[6]http://www.jour.unr.edu...[7]http://prostitution.procon.org...