Legal prostitution does a bawdy good

I, for one, think legalized prostitution would be a good thing.
Prostitutes provide an essential service in our society. They satisfy the needs of a volatile public who would otherwise have to get their sexual needs satisfied for free elsewhere.
My first husband used prostitutes and I was grateful for it. He'd take trips to Las Vegas and I knew he wasn't just playing golf, and I didn't care. I wasn't interested in having sex with him and it kept our marriage going longer as a result.
(I'm not sure if his current wife know this. Hope I'm not letting the cat out of the bag. :)
There are a lot of guys in our society who would never get laid if not for prostitutes. Ugly guys. Smelly guys. Guys with disfigurements. Dudes with crazy-assed needs. Even prominent doctors turned senators in our community. Guys with no time or desire to buy a girl dinner.
Prostitutes are saints who help sinners get their jollies in order to leave the rest of us alone.
That said, I wouldn't want my daughter to be a prostitute. I would move Heaven and Earth to make sure that didn't happen. At least two childhood friends of my kids went down that route. One is an addict, the other is dead.
That's because prostitution isn't legalized in our society. It's kept underground with the drug trade. It's run by pimps and mobsters who hook girls on drugs then send them off into all kinds of bad situtations.
Prostitution, because it's not regulated, is killing children in our society.
If prostitution were legalized and regulated, girls as young as twelve wouldn't be out on the street making money for greedy men.
There would be an age limit. There would be proper health care. Prostitutes would pay taxes and take out RRSPs. In fact, it would be good for government.
Regulated prostitution would put an end to pimps and reduce drug use and disease among women.
As it stands, prostitution is dangerous. The women are treated like criminals. It ruins the potential of many young girls who, otherwise, could receive counselling.
So the decision this week in favor of allowing bawdy houses is a step in the right direction.
It acknowledges what we already know exists. It affirms that these women are hooking because it may be their best solution at a given time. And it allows that some women actually enjoy this profession and provide a valuable service.
The government has no business in the bawdy houses of this nation unless its workers are there to provide health care and counselling for the women who work the trade.
It's a victory -- albeit a small one -- for women and children in this country.
Let's hope this is just the beginning.