What Happens in Vegas Should be Legal Everywhere

What Happens in Vegas Should be Legal Everywhere

Forgive me for warping the over-used catch-phrase, but my own edition is really true, at least from a constitutional standpoint. Whether it be commercial gambling, prostitution, the sale of alcohol at all times or loose regulations on marriage law, there is nothing in the U.S constitution that outlaws any of these practices. While the constitutionality of states or their legislatures voting to outlaw such things may be a little more debatable, the uselessness of such certainly is not.

The most common argument against the above mentioned practices is that they are ‘morally wrong’. Most of the people who make these kinds of arguments are probably good-meaning citizens, but the presentation of this argument leads me to ask the following two questions: one, do these people (most of whom would likely describe themselves as ‘moral’) think that such prohibitory laws are necessary to prevent the behavior in question? And two, do these people really think that such laws will prevent this type of behavior?

History has consistently shown that laws do not prevent consensual behavior. The most prominent example of this is the prohibition of 1920-1933. Data determined after the repeal of the eighteenth amendment shows that the average per-person consumption of alcohol as well as the importation of alcohol into the United States rose abnormally during the time period. In a more modern examination, it is easy to see that the seemingly outlawed acts of prostitution and commercial gambling aren’t on the down turn. Arrests relating to illegal gambling, liquor sales and prostitution are numbering in the thousands, and this is significant given the difficulty associated with policing these activities.

Those who still think the existence of these laws will prevent the associated behavior won’t get much out of the rest of this entry, but those who accept my factual premise will likely agree with my analysis that protecting the legality of these practices would be a good thing, at least from a governmental standpoint. Following similar logic to the drug-legalization argument, if activities cannot ultimately be prevented (let alone controlled at all), they may as well be legal. If an activity is legal, the necessary amount of government regulation (that being regulation with the sole purpose of protecting the equal rights of individuals), as well as a nominal tax may be effectively imposed.

Although I personally denounce prostitution and excessive gambling, I also realize that many others do not. If these victimless activities become legal, the result can only be positive. The extension of individual rights, and the government’s ability to ensure the protection of these rights would be among the outcomes. Perhaps the most positive of these outcomes comes in the fiscal form. Realistically, there is a limit on the amount of money that Americans and foreigners will be spend annually on gambling, prostitution and other Las Vegasisms. One study showed that the entire government of Nevada could be funded exclusively off of a three percent tax on gambling, prostitution and alcohol sales within the state. While I wouldn’t expect the level of indulgence currently found in Sin City to become the nation-wide norm, legalization would certainly provide a very significant form of revenue for the federal and state governments- a source that even if taxed nominally, could generate a considerable portion of the funds needed to operate a strictly constitutional nation.

Unfortunately, it will probably be many decades before this type of proposal is heard by any big ears. When it is, one thing is for sure: Las Vegas will really want what happens there to stay there