opinion

Frank: Let’s legalize, regulate prostitution

It’s time for legislators to wake up from slumber land by legalizing and regulating prostitution.

Brevard sheriff’s investigator, John “Casey” Smith was critically injured on Aug. 20 after being shot by an alleged pimp while serving a warrant in Port St. John. Shooter John Derossett, the uncle of the alleged prostitute, was also shot by deputies, but survived.

The Sheriff’s department was rightfully doing its job, enforcing laws. But for what end? Stopping prostitution? People have been actively engaged in this “crime” for 4,000 years. If it hasn’t been stemmed yet, it never will. Meanwhile, it gives cops, courts and jails more to do, as if they need it.

Prostitution is probably the dumbest of all “crimes.” Two adults who knowingly consent to engage in a sex act in exchange for money or favors is a private affair. Americans indulge in body rubs (massage) for pay by the millions, which is no different than prostitutional stimulation of body parts, except that latter results is orgasm.

Some folks disapprove of the immoral nature of sex for sale and, perhaps, rightfully so. But judging morality is for churches, employers, family members and peers. It should not be a matter for law enforcement, court dockets and jail cells, costing the taxpayer dearly, every day, every month, every year.

We had a “Prostitution Unit” in Dade County in days of yore, two men and a woman dedicated to compiling arrest statistics by baiting hookers and pimps from the street to the county jail. It was a total waste of manpower and taxpayer money. Most prostitutes were “regulars,” many of whom went right back to their profession the next night after bailing out.

The single advantage of working hookers was to develop squealers on other criminals, not only sex crimes, but drug dealing and thievery.

Judging morality is a relative term, depending on where society draws the line in defining “morals.” Not too long ago, two people of the same gender having a sexual encounter in private was considered a “crime.” Nevada enacted laws that legalize, control and tax prostitution as a business. Is Nevada a state with lower morals?

According to Havocscope, a global black market information center, about 13.8 million prostitutes are actively working in the world, 1 million of whom are in the U.S. Havocscope estimates that to be a $14.6 billion, untaxed industry in America alone. In Germany, where prostitution is legal, hookers pay taxes on roughly $18 billion a year. Conversely, America arrests more than 62,000 prostitutes and/or Johns every year.

Prostitution flourishes in the black market that would not exist if brothels and hookers were legitimized, licensed, medically inspected, zoned and taxed. Like drugs, gambling and other crimes of morality, or alcohol prohibition of years past, the black market is nourished by draconian laws that forever fail to accomplish its intended purpose.

Some claim it breaks up marriages. Perhaps, but that’s not a law enforcement matter. Marriage issues are between individuals in which cops have no business intruding, unless a serious crime is attached.

Add to the equation, the element of hypocrisy. Plenty of women (and some men) will engage in sexual favors in exchange for other rewards that have monetary value, not necessarily cash payment. Years ago, famous 26-year-old model, Anna Nicole Smith, married 90 year-old billionaire, J. Howard Marshall. I suspect there are women who marry to provide sexual favors in exchange for wealth, especially in the sports and entertainment world, which is no different than prostitution veiled in legalese.

In Germany, and other countries, prostitution is legal and taxed. They turn the “crime” into an economic plus. In other countries like the United States, we create the “crime,” which turns the behavior into an economic negative. And, it’s still a thriving business, law or no law.

Meanwhile, let’s all wish Deputy John “Casey” Smith a full recovery.