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April 15, 2019 By Chuck Muth

Hardy’s Brothel-Killer Bill Dead…for Now

(Chuck Muth) – As per the Nevada Legislature’s Standing Rule #14.3.1, Republican State Sen. Joe Hardy’s bill (SB413) to ban Nevada’s legal brothels statewide died on Friday after it failed to get a committee hearing by the midnight deadline.

Cause for optimism, but not celebration…yet.  As Yogi Berra famously put it, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.

And as longtime watchers of the Legislature know, “dead” bills can become “zombie” bills that come back to life as amendments to other bills right up until the time the Legislature officially comes to an end (“sine die”) several weeks from now.

The Associated Press reported this weekend that Hardy “had argued brothels had no place in the state” while “Brothel backers argue a ban would hurt struggling rural economies and push sex workers into dangerous street prostitution.”

Brothel supporters have won the argument…for now.  But we’ll remain vigilant and let you know if SB413 somehow joins the walking dead.

In the meantime, Assemblywoman Lesley Cohen’s bill (ACR6) to create a legislative study committee to look into the business operations of Nevada’s legal brothels successfully made it out of committee before the deadline and has moved into the next round – a vote on the floor of the state Assembly.

The bill itself doesn’t specifically outline exactly what Ms. Cohen wishes to study; however, in testimony during a hearing on ACR6 last month, the assemblywoman did reference, generally, certain business practices as outlined in a new book titled “Sex and Stigma” by a trio of UNR researchers.

So I picked up a copy and read it on the Lido Deck during my organization’s annual Mexican Riviera cruise last week.  And I think I now see where the assemblywoman is going.

The researchers note that some legally questionable “police rules” exist in some localities where brothels are legally allowed to operate.  And before commercial sex workers are issued a work permit, they are required to sign a document agreeing to follow a list of various “regulations for prostitutes.”

The authors cite, as an example, Rule #6 for the town of Carlin that only allows the ladies from the brothels “to dine in restaurants and to conduct personal business and shopping in Carlin between the hours of 7:00 am and 7:00 pm.”

The rule goes on to say that “Prostitutes shall not be absent from their place of employment between 7:00 pm and 7:00 am.”

These government-mandated restrictions are what those in the industry call “lockdown” rules.

Examples of other highly-questionable rules outlined in other regulations in other areas include…

“(L)ocal working women  are not allowed to go home at night; legal prostitutes are not allowed in town, bars, or casinos; legal prostitutes may not have family members reside in town; legal prostitutes must take days off in a different town; and, if traveling to another destination, legal prostitutes on vacation must take the most ‘expeditious transport’ out of town.”

Not exactly the definition of “freedom.”

The researchers also note that Nye County and the City of Elko “both mandate that any prostitute who leaves the premises for longer than twenty-four hours must undergo all medical testing before being allowed to work again.”

That government-imposed restriction is, indeed, a head-scratcher.

If a working girl is off the premises for 23 hours and 59 minutes…no problem.  But if she’s off property for one minute longer THAT somehow poses a public health risk?  How?  Especially since condom use is mandatory in all interactions.

Anyway, I’d venture to guess that such government-mandated restrictions on legal commercial sex workers working in a legal business that don’t apply to any other legal workers in any other legal businesses are understandably what have caught Assemblywoman Cohen’s attention.

However…

It seems to me that concerns over certain local and/or county rules and regulations could and should be better addressed directly by Ms. Cohen and local elected officials and county commissioners without a full-blown, two-year, taxpayer-funded legislative “study” committee.

On the other hand, if there is to be such a commission formed, it also seems to me the scope of the study should be expanded to include the working conditions for commercial sex workers in both the legal brothels AND the currently-illegal markets…as recommended in a statement by the Nevada Brothel Association presented by commercial sex worker Ruby Rae at the ACR6 hearing last month.

If we’re going to do this thing, let’s do it right.

There’s still time to amend Ms. Cohen’s bill to do a more thorough and comprehensive study of Nevada’s entire commercial sex industry – either as a floor amendment in the Assembly or once it reaches the state Senate.

More on this in the coming days.  In the meantime, we can at least be grateful that Sen. Hardy’s brothel-killer bill is dead…for now.

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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