Once again, Rhode Island's prostitution law is making news.  The Providence Journal had an editorial criticizing Rhode Island as the only place in the United States, besides part of Nevada, where prostitution is legal.  The editorial discusses representative Joanne Giannini's attempt to end our "national embarrassment,"  by making prostitution indoors illegal. 

     Maybe it's me, but I'm not embarrassed to be a resident of the only state to have legalized prostitution indoors.  It has actually been legal for quite some time, and I don't see how making indoor prostitution illegal will improve things, unless you are naive like the author of the editorial:

She is not doing so to punish women. To the contrary, she is concerned about the spread of potentially deadly disease, the destruction of families and the crime problems that surround prostitution. She voices particular concern about the suffering of prostitutes who are effectively forced into the business by pimps who threaten or deceive them, including teenaged children brought here from other countries under false pretenses.


     So if I am to understand the author, making indoor prostitution illegal will end prostitution?  It will stop the destruction of families?  The spread of disease?  Last time I checked, prostitution was illegal in every other state, and every other state has prostitution.  Making it illegal won't stop it, it will just embarrass people and drag consenting adults through the mud. 

     I am vehemently opposed to prostitution which occurs outdoors because of it's negative effect on neighborhoods.  That is why I support keeping indoor prostitution legal.  Why engage in outdoor prostitution and risk arrest and embarrassment when business can be conducted behind closed doors without the risk of repercussions?  Prostitution will never be stopped, but our current laws offer an excellent way to keep it off the streets and out of sight.