Sex, Prostitution and the Single Man

One day a coworker said to me, "I don't know why prostitution isn't legal."

I stood there with my mouth hanging open not knowing what to say to his comment.

"Take me for instance," my coworker went on. "I'm a single man, I don't have a girlfriend and I have no intentions of getting married. Why shouldn't I be allowed to pay for sex. If a woman is willing to take money for sex then what's the harm in it? It's not like I'm hurting anybody. It's a private thing between just the two of us."

"It's not morally right," I said once I found my voice.

"Don't talk to me about morals and religion," he said. "In the Bible, Judah thinks his widowed daughter-in-law, Tamar, is a prostitute and sleeps with her. And God didn't strike him dead like He did Tamar's husband, Judah's son, Er, for his wicked ways. So if God doesn't think it's wicked or immoral enough to strike someone dead, then why should society?"

"I don't think people will kill you," I said.

"Might as well. If a man is caught he will be locked up and his name printed in the newspapers. If his employer sees it, his job is jeopardized. If he loses his job, there goes his livelihood and there goes his life because once it gets around the only job he'll be able to get is flipping hamburgers. And that's only if he's lucky. Then he'd be better off dead."

"What about sexually transmitted diseases?" I asked. "Wouldn't you be afraid of getting AIDS or something else?"

"Why do you think they make condoms?"

"That still doesn't make it right. And if you look deeper in the Bible you'll find more against prostitution than just the passage you mention. There are reasons it's illegal."

"Yeah," he said. "Bible thumping women pushed those laws through. They're afraid their husbands will be having sex when they deny them. If they kept their husbands satisfied they wouldn't be out looking for sex. And take men with girlfriends. They're not married and they have sex. What's the difference between me having a girlfriend and buying her things and me paying for a prostitute? It's still money out of my pocket."

"There is also a crime element associated with prostitution. There are pimps who beat their prostitutes if they don't perform well. They also kill other prostitutes and pimps who wander into their territory or if they want to take over another pimp's territory. And there are many underaged girls and foreign women who are brought to America thinking they are getting good jobs and are forced into prostitution. Have your ever thought about that?"

"If it were legal, there would be none of that."

I finally said, "If you're that worked up about it, why don't you move to Nevada where it is legal?"

"That's another thing. Why is Nevada the only state where it's legal? Why isn't it legal in every state? I'll tell you why. The people of Nevada are smart enough to know single men have desires and the brains to comprehend the fact there is always going to be prostitutes, so why not make it legal and collect taxes from the fees rather than spending resources trying shut them down?"

"You do know it's still not legal for prostitutes to sell their services on the streets in Nevada, don't you?"

"As long as men have someplace to go where they won't be doing anything illegal."

"There you are," I said. "Move to Nevada and quit whining about it."

"I don't want to move to Nevada. My life is here. I'm just saying it makes no sense for prostitution to be illegal. There are always going to be prostitutes so why should a man be prosecuted for paying for one?"

"The law is the law," I said. "You either abide by it or you get arrested."

"Stupid law," my coworker said and walked away.