Not About Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer got caught with his pants down. Good news for those who dislike him. His recklessness and arrogance, they say, came back to bite him in the ass. And so this morning, with the Wall St. Journal leading the way, many people are cheering.
However, my interest is not in Spitzer. While I think he is guilty of stupidity and bad judgment that is beside the point. To pay for sex, whether the service provider comes from next door or a thousand miles away, should not be a criminal act. To spend time and money trying to catch and punish people who buy or sell sexual favors is futile.
What’s the purpose? To legislate morality? Following that logic we should fine and lock up the millions of men and women who screw someone other than their spouse or partner – for free. It’s like wanting gravity to cause water to flow uphill. Ain’t gonna happen.
No matter what the morality police preach, human beings are not going to stop behaving like human beings have always behaved. And there is plenty of evidence to justify saying that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession.
I don’t have a problem with punishing people who harm others, especially children. I do have a problem with calling something a crime when there is no victim. Two consenting adults should be able to decide for themselves what they’d like to do. It is not for the government or a prosecutor to tell them how to behave.
Libertarians of the World – Unite!
However, my interest is not in Spitzer. While I think he is guilty of stupidity and bad judgment that is beside the point. To pay for sex, whether the service provider comes from next door or a thousand miles away, should not be a criminal act. To spend time and money trying to catch and punish people who buy or sell sexual favors is futile.
What’s the purpose? To legislate morality? Following that logic we should fine and lock up the millions of men and women who screw someone other than their spouse or partner – for free. It’s like wanting gravity to cause water to flow uphill. Ain’t gonna happen.
No matter what the morality police preach, human beings are not going to stop behaving like human beings have always behaved. And there is plenty of evidence to justify saying that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession.
I don’t have a problem with punishing people who harm others, especially children. I do have a problem with calling something a crime when there is no victim. Two consenting adults should be able to decide for themselves what they’d like to do. It is not for the government or a prosecutor to tell them how to behave.
Libertarians of the World – Unite!
posted by Dan at 9:32 AM
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