ACORN and Prositution. How 'bout them nuts?

Being a liberal, many of my not-so-liberal friends insist on asking me, "Well, what do you think about what's been going on with ACORN?" They say it as if one liberal organization acting poorly shows that all liberal organizations are wrong. Now, I may be attacked here by some who know me well, because this same type of argument is often used to discredit religion. However, to digress slightly, killing people who believe differently is not the same as telling some one how to get away with a crime, and it certainly isn't limited to just one religion that has done this.

Anyway, back to ACORN. I'm torn.

On the one hand,. I hope to be a lawyer some day, and thus respect the law, even when it's wrong.

However, this mistake of some of ACORN's members does not discredit the institution as a whole. The Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) fights for better healthcare, lower-income housing and wages, neighborhood safety, voter registration, education, and much more, advocating for the lower end of the financial and social spectrum. The organization's goals are just.

But, my main qualm with this entire issue with the videos, which were made in a fashion that would make Michael Moore blush, is very different from what I have heard voiced so far. The videos show two activists, pretending to be a pimp and prostitute, getting advice on how to circumvent the law in order to start a brothel.

I am in no way saying to was right for the ACORN members to give advice as to how to beat the law. However, prior to my getting to my main rant, let me pose a question to those of you who are upset by the video and at ACORN:

How many times have you been driving, on the street or on the highway, well over the speed limit? Let's say, going 70mph on a 55mph highway. Now, how many times have you been going 70, seen a cop staked out a hundred feet ahead, and pressed on your break to take your speed to a more reasonable level? Do you know what you did every time you did that? You found a way to do something illegal without getting punished. You worked around the law. You circumvented the law.

And, honestly, more harm has come from speeding than from prostitution: accidents, life-altering injuries, death. However, if you were to ask someone, "How can I speed and not get caught", one of the first things people would say would be to slow down if you see a cop. Actually, most people wouldn't say that, because it's so obvious. But we sell radar devices that help drivers to know when a police officer is around, so that that person can avoid the law. Does this not seem like a double standard to anyone else?

Now, to my main rant. Though the ACORN members were wrong to give advice as to how to illegally conduct prostitution, I don't feel prostitution should be illegal in the first place. Allow me to make a short list of things that would happen if prostitution were legalized:

• It would eliminate pimps
• There would be fewer rapes
• There would be fewer beatings
• There would be fewer murders
• There would be fewer STDs transmitted
• The entire institution could be taxed

There would be no pimps, because the pimps are just the drug dealers of sex; the elimination of the pimps eliminates a lot of crime.

If brothels were legalized nationally, as it is in Nevada, the rapes involved with prostitution would drop sharply. At the moment, the rapes are almost never reported, because that would involve the woman admitting to being a prostitute. This would not be an issue if it were legalized. Not only that, but brothels would have security, just to increase the safety further. This is the same reason that beatings and murders would both decrease.

As for STDs, the brothels in Nevada are clean and provide contraception (and require it). The prostitutes go through regular tests, from general STD to HIV specific tests.

Now, the best part, my republican friends: it could all be taxed, both the purchase and the income of the women. And these women make good money, which means good money for the government. As was said once in "Boston Legal" concerning the legalization and taxation of prostitution, "Legalize prostitution. Support our troops."

Here's the list of bad things that would happen if it were legalized:

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Oh, wait. Nothing bad would happen. It would piss off the religious right, which I almost put on the list of advantages. People would have more sex. How terrible.

Legalize prostitution, protect women, support sex, support our troops.