[A.J.Armitage]

How about a Mosque, or a Hindu Temple? Do you really want your children exposed to pagan idolatry which endangers their eternal souls? Why shouldn't the State do something about these kind of environments?

I was going to say that. As it happens, I grew up almost next door to a mosque. If you walk out my front door and turn left, before you is another house, and then a street, and then a mosque.

At least those institutions would card your kid for age if he came looking for some vodka

I hate that.

[spodbox]

Interesting. I take a sort of off-handed approach to abortion: dump Roe v Wade and let the states decide individually. Then, you need to discourage and marginalize abortion so much that few would ever be performed - and yet it is still legal in some places.

This is proper way to combat other such immoral non-crimes. No force required.

About prostitution: what F seems to not understand is that many of the drawbacks to these sort of activities arise solely because they are illegal. Legal prostitutes would most likely go through a thorough licensing process (mostly to avoid STDs). This sort of practice has already taken shape in the porn industry. Besides, mainstream dating boils down to prostitution in many cases - it just isn't upfront about the transfer of money. Is he against mere *dating*? In addition, where he is failing is he advocating that certain immoral behaviors need to be punished by the state and that legalizing these behaviors implies promoting them. Say prostitution is legal. Would you then want to engage in prostitution? Not likely, because of the self-imposed moral restrictions.

Also, one has to be careful when making moral absolutes. In reality, there are no moral absolutes in a complex world. There are always exceptions (example: self defense for murder).