“If a consenting adult wants to engage in sex work, that is their right, and it should not be a crime”, said Tulsi. She is taking the humanitarian, and libertarian, position on a consensual transaction between two adults. The only controversy is not that the specific act is sexual in nature, but that money exchanges hands. Legalizing it, giving sex workers full access to legal protection, courts, banks, et cetera, would be enormously empowering for those currently forced to navigate the dangerous, disease-ridden black market. Legalize it, and watch the violent and abusive black market pimps go bankrupt, and let the innovation and entrepreneurship of a multitude of free individuals heal the yawning social fracture that the prohibition of sex work has created. Of course, it will put thousands of law enforcement officers out of work. But that would be an astounding improvement. Far less busybodies with badges harassing people who are harming no one. Legalize it and deal a fatal blow to the modern-day enslavement of girls currently taking place all over the country due to the enormous unsatisfied demand for this service.
