The Push for Legal Prostitution in Louisiana Has Ground to a Halt

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Late yesterday,  Rep. Mandie Landry’s proposal to decriminalize prostitution across the state ran out of steam.  The effort to make the world's oldest profession an honest one was shelved by Landry herself in the face of growing opposition and a fight over the idea she was poised to lose.

Several sex workers from across the state have testified that keeping prostitution illegal, the state was unfairly punishing the prostitutes disproportionately over the "Johns" (their customers) who were breaking the same law.  It has also been pointed out that the pimps and handlers involved in committing the crime were rarely prosecuted compared to the women they forced into the work in the first place.

Proponents of the bill say that removing the stigma and making prostitution legal would give prostitutes more freedom to report crimes committed against them, seek more appropriate medical care, and even find better housing.

According to the report from KLFY, all of the arguments that the state should not be sticking its nose into the private sexual affairs of Louisiana citizens were dwarfed by the opposing argument that legalizing the sex trade in our state would most likely lead to a dramatic and horrific rise in human trafficking cases.