Originally Posted by The_Jazz

If that's what the community decides to do, then I'm absolutely fine with that. But if the morals of enough voters of a city or state conflict with prostitution, then they have the right to ban it. Given that 48 states have actually spoken in the negative on the subject, all the zoning and regulations in the world are a moot point.

This is a states' rights issue. Period. There is no national question here. If you don't like the rules in your state, vote to change them. But don't tell me that I have to vote for it in my state if I don't want to. If my neighbors and I don't want a legal brothel down the street, you have no authority to tell me that I'm wrong. That's my point here. You don't get to impose your morality on me any more than I do on you.

I admit that my church analogy is sloppy at best, but it was the best I could concoct at the time. I live in Chicago. I support the smoking ban, since I don't smoke and I felt that it intruded on my enjoyment in bars and restaurants. My city voted to ban the practice in bars and restaurants. My alderman knew my thoughts on the matter since I told him several times, both in email and in person. I am assuming that you don't live in Chicago (if you do, let's get together and have a beer sometime - seriously), so as a resident of another city, you're perfectly able to enact your own smoking ban or vote against one. Local rules for local issues.