I am so inceredibly shocked by all the people who seem to think legalizing prostitution would be a good idea!!!!! (not putting down anyone's opinion, I am just very surprised)

Early in this thread someone compared pornography to prostitution. I would like to use this comparison to point out a few things: Pornography is legal, and it's legalization has done nothing to control the horrendous abuse throughout the industry. Pornography participants (both women and men) are often underage. They are often supplied with false id by directors, producers, and co-stars. They are often coerced into participation by abusers. Many suffer from drug addictions, and many have a variety of mental illnesses. This puts them in the position of being unable to make any kind of informed choice about their participation. Many are physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by the people they work with.

I know many people have expressed the idea that legal prostitution would eliminate pimps. I think all it would do would be to give them a new title: boss, manager, sir. A whole new set of loopholes for abusers to jump through and continue harming others.