Reply #71: We shouldn't think that a behavior's being legal is tantamount to approval [View All]

So, in general, a particular behavior's being legal is not related to whether that behavior is officially or generally approved of.
There are uncountably many instances of behaviors which aren't officially or generally approved of which are legal. Take, for instance, excessively purchasing lottery tickets, having sex while under, say, 15,and being rude to fellow users of the nation's roadways, just to name a few.

In my view it's unfortunate that the same cannot be said of a particular behavior's illegality. In fact, it would be true that the legalization of prostitution would be tantamount to approval of the behavior but this is only because it is currently illegal and, unfortunately, illegal behaviors ARE official (and sometimes generally) disapproved of. This interferes with our ability to improve the quality of life for individuals engaging in and affected by these disapproved of behaviors (i.e. everyone).

We can't mandate that minimum wage laws apply to prostitutes or that prostitutes be covered by health insurance or tested for STDs in order to be licensed, for example, unless prostitution is legalized.
Some prostitutes are little more than (or tantamount to) slaves of their pimps. But they are engaging in illegal behavior.


In short, moral judgments and judgments as to whether a behavior ought to be legalized ought be independant.