Letters the week of 12/06/01

Patriotic prostitution

In "My prostitution pals," the author expressed his views on the recent prostitution debate presented by the Campus Libertarians and moderated by Wayne Laugesen, editor of Boulder Weekly (Letters, Nov. 21-28). The writer expressed his hope that the Campus Libertarians would "take the flip side of the adult industry into consideration before condemning an activity." As the CU student who first contacted libertarian Wendy McElroy about debating prostitution at CU, and spent countless hours helping to organize the event, I'm sorry that the libertarian position on this issue was not made clear.

Wendy McElroy advocates a complete decriminalization of prostitution. Far from condemning prostitution, she views it as the application of "a woman's body, a woman's right" to sex and entrepreneurship. At the debate, McElroy noted how if members of, say, a racial group complained about laws passed to help them, advocates of the law would reconsider their position. But if sex workers complain about laws allegedly passed to protect them, advocates of these laws don't listen. But McElroy does. In her book, XXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography, she interviewed sex workers, including prostitutes, who complain that laws making their profession a crime do much more harm than good. She, like Mr. Warmack, found many sex-workers who were self-responsible, educated, entrepreneurs. She respects their freedom to live the life they chose.

If anyone was condemning prostitution, perhaps it was Kathleen Barry, the other debater. As a neo-Marxist who advocates government intrusion into women's personal lives, Ms. Barry does not at all represent the libertarian position. Needless to say, that's why she was debating Wendy McElroy on the issue. Mr. Warmack, if you feel that any members of Campus Libertarians or Ms. McElroy at any point condemned prostitution, it was certainly not our intent. We'd very much like to know when we were misunderstood.

Please contact us through our website, campuslibertarians.com, where you can also access Ms. McElroy's website.

Brian Schwartz/Minister of Propaganda/Campus Libertarians

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com