Nevada Brothel Association

Archives for July 2019

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No separation between prostitution, politics in Nevada

by Dana Gentry | Nevada Current

[excerpt]

Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is defending Sisolak and the state’s legal brothels in a federal lawsuit filed by former sex workers, is simultaneously prosecuting cases of sexual trafficking initiated by his predecessor, Adam Laxalt.  . . . Ford draws a distinction between prostitution and sex trafficking in his motion to dismiss the federal suit against the state.

“There is no conflict between federal law and Nevada law here because federal law does not criminalize prostitution and both Nevada law and federal law criminalize sex trafficking wherever it occurs in Nevada,” Ford wrote in his motion.

Chuck Muth, government relations counsel for the Nevada Brothel Association, bristles at the conflation of legal sex work and the illegal trade.

“Are you saying the presence of legal brothels in rural towns like Elko and Ely is fueling demand for commercial sex services in Las Vegas and Reno?” asks Muth. “You can’t blame that on the legal brothels.  They’re not allowed to advertise. The advertising ban is in state law.”

To read full column, click here

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Legal sex worker gives talk on risk at Rotary Club of Lancaster

(Hurubie Meko | Lancaster Online) – The Rotary Club of Lancaster got some business advice Wednesday from a legal sex worker in Nevada.

Alice Little, who said she earned over $1 million last year working at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, talked to the Rotarians about risk management and fee setting.

It’s not that the Rotarians are looking to support legal sex work in Lancaster County.

Tom Gemmill, the club’s program chair, invited Little to speak after hearing her in a podcast about new books and economics, he said.

The book being discussed was called “An Economist Walks into a Brothel and Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk” by Allison Schrager.

“Now, who isn’t going to listen to that podcast,” Gemmill said. “It was really fascinating.”

Gemmill said he asked Little to speak about how she mitigates risk in legal sex work versus the risks that exist in illegal sex work. He also asked her to talk about fee structures.

About 100 people gathered at the Farm and Home Center in Lancaster to hear Little speak via a YouTube chat.

Last year, Little said she made about $1.2 million dollars from bookings at the brothel. And after splitting 50% of her earnings with Moonlite Bunny Ranch — the industry standard — her income still qualified her as the highest earning legal sex worker in the country, she said.

Nevada law allows the exchange of sexual services for money, but only through “a licensed house of prostitution.”

Working in her industry has taught her how to assess potential risks and appropriately mitigate those risks as her celebrity status has changed, she said.

Often, people overcomplicate what risks exist in achieving their business goals, Little said. She said it is a better practice to focus on existing issues, rather than speculating on future difficulties.

“In order to make a proper risk management plan, you have to first zero in on what risks you are specifically managing and cross off the list anything that isn’t a potential threat at that time,” she said.

As an example, Little talked about physical threats against her last year.

Last summer, when a ballot advisory question threatened to overturn the legalization of prostitution and ban brothels in Lyon County, Little joined an opposition movement and advocated against the measure.

Her political involvement raised her risk profile, she said.

“During that time last summer, I received no less than three different death threats,” she said.

To mitigate her increased risk, Little said she started taking different routes home, carrying pepper spray and overall becoming more cautious.

Once the ballot advisory was defeated, her risk of immediate danger dissipated and she no longer needed to take those measures, she said.

Gemmill said many attendees gave him positive feedback after the event.

The speaker event is held weekly. The next three meetings will feature Barbara Altmann, Franklin & Marshall College president, Don Brown, scholar in residence at Widener University, and Russell Redding, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture secretary.

Two men leaving the Farm and Home Center on Wednesday said they found Little’s speech very informative and interesting.

And from what Little described about her work, they thought that legalized prostitution seems to have more protections for the women who work in it.

When asked if they would support a measure of legalization in Lancaster County, they both answered “No.”

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Bernie Sanders Ducks Sex Worker Questions

Excerpt from Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 7, 2019

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders hosted a public town hall that drew more than 550 and a private roundtable meeting with veterans in Las Vegas.

Sanders’ progressive platforms met with support, but several pushed the candidate to take stance on protecting sex work.

One woman asked for his stance on sex work, noting the candidate has firm stances on other personal liberties and freedoms. She said she hoped he would not equate sex work with human trafficking.

As he has when previously asked about the topic, Sanders said he would have to study the issue.

Another man then pressed him on sex work, asking him not to defer on the issue.

Sanders clarified he did not equate sex work and human trafficking, but he said he does not yet have answers for every question.

Click here to read full article

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Some Cheerful News from the “War on Sex” Frontlines

(Chuck Muth) – There are reasons for commercial sex workers to be in an extra celebratory mood this Independence Day.

In politics they call it “Big Mo’” – when momentum swings from one campaign to another.  And in the War on Sex, the momentum has decidedly shifted in the direction of commercial sex workers.

As Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and author of the Declaration of Independence we celebrate today, wrote…

“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others.  But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”

Similarly, the religious beliefs of some that fee-for-sex between consenting adults is immoral does not make it injurious to anyone else; it doesn’t pick anyone’s pocket or break anyone’s leg.  As such, government should butt out.

And there are signs this Independence Day that some elected officials are starting to agree.

In Queens, New York, a young, relatively unknown public defender running for district attorney shocked the political establishment by winning last week.  Her platform included a pledge that the DA’s office would stop prosecuting commercial sex transactions between consenting adults.

Of course, until state law is changed such relationships will remain officially illegal.  However, a bill to change that has also been introduced in the New York Legislature.  And while the bill’s prospects are a longshot, it’s still a step in the right direction.

In addition, a similar effort to end the criminalization of prostitution has also been introduced in Washington, DC – where politicians and lobbyists have elevated “fee for service” to an art form in which only taxpayers get screwed.

In California last week the State Assembly passed a bill that, as Maxine Doogan of the ESPLER Project described, “prohibits the arrest for prostitution of people who witness or are a victim of specified and serious crimes, and prohibits the use of condoms as evidence of sex work.”

The bill now moves to the state Senate.

And on Tuesday Hawaii passed a bill that tosses prostitution convictions for “those who avoid additional convictions for three years, even if they can’t prove they have been victims of sex trafficking.”

A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

It’s also noteworthy that an effort to kill the only system of legal prostitution in the United States died last month.

A state senator introduced a bill to shut down Nevada’s legal rural brothels – which have been operating successfully and safely for almost 50 years.  His effort failed when the Legislature adjourned without the bill even getting a committee hearing, let alone a vote.

Admittedly, these are incremental steps toward ending criminal penalties for commercial sex work.  But Big Mo’ is clearly on the side of those who embrace Thomas Jefferson’s “live and let live” attitude.

And that’s something to celebrate on this Fourth of July.

Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a limited-government grassroots advocacy organization, and government affairs counsel to the Nevada Brothel Association