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March 2, 2019 By NBA Staff

Brothel War: The New Fight for Live-and-Let-Live

(Chuck Muth) – Lots of news stories about the federal lawsuit filed this week by anti-brothel crusader Jason Guinasso on behalf of former illegal prostitute and ex-con for bank fraud and tax evasion, Rebekah Charleston.

The target of the lawsuit is the State of Nevada.  The suit asks the federal government to step in and strike down Nevada’s law that allows the operation of legal brothels in a number of the state’s rural counties.

And while Guinasso has claimed in newspaper interviews that he’s representing Charleston “pro bono,” he asks in the suit for “reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs, and litigation expenses plus interest accruing thereon, in their favor at the maximum rate allowed by law.”

The same “we don’t win, you don’t pay” scheme of personal injury attorneys.  It also means if he does win, the taxpayers of Nevada will actually be paying his fees.  But that’s not all…

Guinasso is also demanding that Nevada create a $20 million “Sex Trade Exit Fund” ostensibly for the purpose of providing former sex workers “mental health services, rent assistant, job training, scholarships, funding for childcare, medical treatments, tattoo removal, etc.”

Not only would Nevada taxpayers be on the hook for this $20 million, but a Guinasso ally, Awaken Reno – which partnered with him on his failed effort to ban brothels in Lyon County last fall – would likely be a beneficiary of the largess.

Feather-bedding?

Meanwhile, Bree Zender of KUNR noted that the Mann Act, the basis for Guinasso’s claim relating to interstate commerce, was actually steeped in anti-black racism…

“The Mann Act – also known as the White Slave Traffic Act – became federal law in 1910 … In fact, in 1913, famed boxer Jack Johnson was the first person to be found guilty of violating the act after he allegedly transported a prostitute from Pittsburgh to Chicago. Many believe that Johnson’s case was racially motivated. [Johnson] was black and the woman, who some say was actually his girlfriend, was white.”

So where does the lawsuit go from here?

According to the process summons issued on February 25, 2019, the State of Nevada – including the Legislature, the Governor’s Office and the Attorney General – now have 60 days to respond.

In addition, Lance Gilman, owner of the Mustang Ranch brothel in northern Nevada, told the Associated Press that he “intends to file a motion to become a party in the lawsuit,” while the Washington Post reported that Mustang “has announced that it plans to file a motion to intervene in the lawsuit (and) become a full party to it as an intervenor and get the claim dismissed.”

“Guinasso’s actions will put thousands of women back into the hands of pimps working illegally,” Mr. Gilman said.  “His entire complaint is about illegal prostitution and trafficking, which has no relationship to licensed brothels in Nevada.”

Indeed, as Amy Westervelt wrote, “Several women, who spoke with The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity to protect their safety, said they feel safer at the brothels than they would as independent sex workers.”

“Gilman,” the AP reported, “said Guinasso would be better off trying to help illegal prostitutes escape from their pimps, working to outlaw the distribution of handbills on the Las Vegas Strip for illegal prostitution services and cracking down on illegal sexual services at massage parlors.”

Meanwhile, Miranda Wilson of the Las Vegas Sun reported that Republican Nevada State Sen. Joe Hardy has introduced a bill to outlaw legal brothels statewide.

Wilson’s article notes that while Charleston claims to have been “trafficked” through a pair of Nevada’s legal brothels, Gilman argues that “it isn’t the legal brothels’ responsibilities to determine whether a prostitute is being coerced into working.”

“The brothels cannot be the clearinghouse,” he said in an interview. “They cannot be the law enforcement group.”

Indeed.  If, as Charleston alleges, her “pimp” sent her to work in a legal Nevada brothel, and she failed to disclose that to the sheriff who issued her a work card or the brothel where she allegedly worked, how was anyone supposed know?

It should also be noted that Charleston claims she wasn’t making enough money in the legal brothels, so her pimp allegedly pulled her out and sent her to Las Vegas where the illegal and unregulated market was more lucrative, even though far more dangerous.

But the real heart of the matter is this: Even if Charleston was “trafficked” into legal brothels without the knowledge of law enforcement or the brothels themselves, that doesn’t mean the vast majority of other women who choose to work there are doing so against their will.

As Cherry of the Mustang Ranch explained to the Washington Post…

“I pay for my mother’s chemotherapy. And I grew up in a bad area with a bad school system, and the first step to getting out of poverty is to go to a better school. So I pay for my younger sister’s schooling, too.

“If something happened and this place shut down, most all of us would still be doing this work, but we’d be pushed to the streets, to hotels, to strip clubs selling ‘extras,’ and things would happen to us. Statistically, things would happen to us and it would be awful.”

Exactly.

At the very least, folks such as Guinasso and Sen. Hardy should visit the legal brothels and speak with the adult, consenting women who work there, such as Cherry, and get their first-person perspective on the work they’ve chosen to do.

Listen to THEM.  And then live and let live.

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

Filed Under: Blog

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Suzette Cole, CEO, Moonlite Bunny Ranch

“Prostitution is the oldest profession and will not go away.  Nevada has been doing it right since 1971 when we took it out of the criminal’s hands and put it into a highly-regulated industry.  As an added benefit, there has never been a case of HIV/AIDS in the history of legal brothels here…and you can’t say that about any other profession in the United States.”

John Stossel, Syndicated Columnist

“We don’t have to cheer for prostitution, or think it’s nice, to keep government out of it and let participants make up their own minds.  It’s wrong to ban sex workers’ options just to make ourselves feel better.”

Steve Chapman, Syndicated Columnist

“Prohibition doesn’t eliminate the harms generally associated with prostitution, such as violence, human trafficking and disease. On the contrary, it fosters them by driving the business underground.”

Christina Parreira, UNLV Researcher/Sex Worker

“Sex work is my CHOICE.  I’d like to continue to have the opportunity to make that choice legally.  We don’t need protection. We’re consenting, adult women.”

Washington, DC Councilman David Grosso

“We need to stop arresting people for things that are not really criminal acts. We should arrest someone for assault…but when it’s two adults engaging in a consensual sex act, I don’t see why that should be an arrestable offense”

New York Assemblyman Richard Gottfried

“Trying to stop sex work between consenting adults should not be the business of the criminal justice system.”

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker

“Yes, sex work should be decriminalized.  As a general matter, I don’t believe that we should be criminalizing activity between consenting adults, and especially when doing so causes even more harm for those involved.”

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders

“I think the idea of legalizing prostitution is something that should be considered…(and) certainly needs to be discussed.”

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris

“When you’re talking about consenting adults, I think that, yes, we should really consider that we can’t criminalize consensual behavior, as long as no one is being harmed. … We should not be criminalizing women who are engaged in consensual opportunities for employment.”

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren

“I believe humans should have autonomy over their own bodies and they get to make their own decisions. … I am open to decriminalizing sex work. Sex workers, like all workers, deserve autonomy and are particularly vulnerable to physical and financial abuse.”

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

“If a consenting adult wants to engage in sex work, that is their right, and it should not be a crime. All people should have autonomy over their bodies and their labor.”

Gov. John Hickenlooper

“Legalizing prostitution and regulating it, so there are norms and protections and we understand more clearly how people are being treated and make sure we prevent abuse, I think it should be really looked at.”

Mike Gravel, former Alaska Senator

“Sex workers are workers, and they deserve the dignity and respect that every worker deserves. For too long, we’ve denied them that. Sex workers, not politicians, should lead the way in crafting sex work policy.”

Prof. Ronald Weitzer, George Washington University:

“Unlike illegal street prostitution in many other places, Nevada’s legal brothels do not disturb public order, create nuisances, or negatively impact local communities in other ways. Instead, they provide needed tax revenue for cash-strapped rural towns.”

Prof. Barbara Brents, UNLV author, “State of Sex”:

“Teams of scholars…have concluded that Nevada’s legal brothels provide a far safer environment for sex workers than the criminalized system in the rest of the United States.”

Prof. Sarah Blithe, UNR author, “Sex and Stigma”:

“Discussions of legal prostitution are rife with misinformation.  Academic work and popular press publications alike often conflate legal prostitution in the United States with illegal prostitution.”

Lee Herz Dixon:

“Do I think eradicating legal prostitution from all Nevada counties will erase the practice of the oldest profession in the state, or break the nexus of drugs, crime, and exploitation of the vulnerable? I do not.”

Journalist Michael Cernovich:

“It’s empirically proven that criminalizing sex work allows children to be sex trafficked more readily as they are afraid to turn to authorities and wonder if they will be arrested.”

Enrique Carmona:

“We need to put aside moralistic prejudices, whether based on religion or an idealistic form of feminism, and figure out what is in the best interests of the sex workers and public interest as well.”

Ruby Rae, professional courtesan

“In the brothels, we have the choice, always, to say which clients we will say yes and no to. We have staff that would never let a man hurt us, and we have a clientele that do not come here to hurt us.”

Kiki Lover, professional courtesan:

“We are human beings who chose to do sex work on our own free will. We get treated with respect and like family at the brothels. It’s a job just like any other job. We sell a service that all humans need.”

Paris Envy, professional courtesan:

“I’m not ‘exploited.’ I’m not ‘trafficked.’ I’m not ‘brainwashed.’ I don’t need to be ‘saved.’ I’ve freely chosen this line of work, which is a legal, private transaction between consenting adults.”

Alice Little, professional courtesan:

“It’s ILLEGAL sex work that exploits children. It’s ILLEGAL sex work that traffics. It’s ILLEGAL sex work that sees women exploited and abused by pimps.”

Jim Shedd, Nevadan

“Prostitution should be licensed, regulated, taxed like any other service industry.  There are many single or widowed men and women who should be able to take advantage of such services provided by consenting adults for consenting adults. Let’s act to at least reduce illegal sex trafficking and other sex crimes by creating safe and legal outlets for paying adults who wish to use them.”

Paul Bourassa, brothel customer:

“Some people are just never given a chance in the dating scene, so brothels offer those of us with no experience a chance to learn what it’s like to be on a date.”

Lewis Dawkins, brothel customer:

“It’s not always about sex. Little compliments and encouragements offered by the ladies help build my self-confidence. It’s a business, yes. But the ladies care personally about their clients. That means a lot.”

Brett Caton, brothel customer:

“I think brothels provide an important function in society. Legal ones give a safe outlet to their customers and for some men it is the only way they get so much as a hug.”

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The Nevada Brothel Association PAC is a coalition of legal brothel owners, brothel workers, brothel clients and brothel supporters dedicated to defending a woman’s right to choose professional sex work as a career, protecting the public’s health and safety, and preserving Nevada’s rich live-and-let-live heritage.

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