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December 24, 2018 By NBA Staff

If You Really Want to End Illegal Sex Trafficking, Here’s the One Proven Way to Do It

(Suzette Cole) – God bless Kevin Malone.

Mr. Malone, former general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is now competing against a new and far more dangerous opponent right here in Nevada: The illegal sex trafficking market.

As co-founder and president of the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, Mr. Malone is fighting to “save the lives of children caught in this dark and barbaric industry.”  A noble cause.  And one every person with an ounce of decency should embrace.  However…

No serious discussion of this issue and how to combat the practice can take place without adding to the mix the one proven solution that certain parts of Nevada have embraced for almost 50 years now:  Legalizing, taxing and regulating prostitution among consenting adults.

In a recent op-ed published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Mr. Malone writes that “Las Vegas is a hub for sex trafficking, including among minors.”  And he cites an Arizona State University study that found that “one in five underage victims was brought to Las Vegas specifically for the purpose of sex trafficking.”

Pure evil.  But in order to have a serious, rational debate on how to end illegal sex trafficking in America, two distinctions must be clearly made.

One, that there’s a BIG difference between adults forced into prostitution and adults who freely and willingly engage in such sex-for-fee work.  And two, that minors – unlike adults – are not able to give legal consent.

“When a man pays for sex,” Mr. Malone wrote, “he has no idea whether that ‘willing 21-year-old’ he is buying is really 14 – or whether she’s in the room because she’s being forced by someone else.”

In the illegal sex trade, this is absolutely true.

However, it’s absolutely NOT true in Nevada’s legal brothels, where every sex worker must be an adult who is issued a sheriff’s work permit after being fingerprinted and subjected to age verification and an FBI background check.

As such there are NO underage prostitutes working in Nevada’s legal brothels.

So, if your concern is truly to eliminate underage sex trafficking, then Nevada’s legal brothel system is the most effective, PROVEN weapon. The problem: Legal brothels are prohibited in Las Vegas which, as Mr. Malone notes, is ground zero for the illegal sex industry.

Back in the “old days” the government prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol.  But people still wanted their adult beverages and found so many ways around Prohibition that Prohibition was eventually repealed.

Now the sale of alcohol is legal, taxed and regulated nationwide.

Similarly, at one time gambling was considered a societal no-no.  But people were bound and determined to gamble no matter what government nannies said.  Eventually Nevada legalized, taxed and licensed the activity – and is now considered the “gold standard” for regulating the industry nationwide.

Ditto marijuana, now legalized, taxed and licensed in Nevada.

Oh, and gay marriage – another activity between consenting adults the government has no business prohibiting.  The U.S. Supreme Court has said so.  Thus, gay marriages are now legal, taxed and licensed nationwide.

The next obvious frontier: Legalizing, taxing and regulating prostitution.

Like it or not, that’s the single best way to get rid of illegal street pimps who traffic underaged girls – just as legalizing marijuana has put so many illegal pot dealers out of business.  And the revenue generated by taxing legal sex-for-fee work could be earmarked for programs to continue battling the illegal sex market.

We should all be grateful that Mr. Malone and others have dedicated so much time and effort to saving child victims from this scourge.  But to ignore or oppose the one proven weapon in the war, legalization of fee-for-sex among consenting adults, is short-sighted.

It’s time to put EVERY option on the table in the fight against the “dark and barbaric” illegal sex trafficking industry.  And it’s time to stop conflating illegal sex trafficking, especially of minors, with what happens in Nevada’s legal, licensed and regulated brothels.

Do that, Mr. Malone, and you’ll find some powerful new allies in your commendable cause.  Soldier on.  And let us know how we can help.

Ms. Cole is CEO of four legal brothels in Lyon County, Nevada and president of the Nevada Brothel Association. For more information, please visit www.NevadaBrothelAssociation.com

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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