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May 6, 2019 By Chuck Muth

Legislators Needs to Protect Brothel Workers from This Dangerous, “Non-Trivial” Threat…NOW

(Chuck Muth) – This is a long one, so grab a coffee refill before continuing.

There’s an obsessed man in Reno stalking legal sex workers – and the Nevada Legislature needs to stop him in his tracks…now.

ACR6 is a bill to study the “health and safety” of commercial sex workers in Nevada’s legal brothels over the next two years.

But the safety of these workers, as you’ll see detailed below, is at serious risk RIGHT NOW – and legislators shouldn’t wait two years to stop this man’s predatory behavior.

Jason Guinasso

I’m talking about a creepy Reno lawyer named Jason Guinasso, who’s been on an 18-month religious crusade to shut down the brothels.

But it’s a particular legal tactic he’s using that jeopardizes the physical safety – and potentially the very lives – of these women that the Legislature needs to address before the end of the session next month.

And yes, it’s serious enough to warrant an “emergency” exemption to bring a short, new statute amendment forward.  Here’s what it’s all about…

For a year and half now Guinasso has been trying to force Lyon County to give him the full names and addresses of every legal sex worker in the county’s four brothels, as detailed in a public record request he submitted to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) on December 1, 2017…

“I write to request a copy of all applications for registration as a prostitute filed with the Lyon County Sheriff for the last 10 years.  Please include all information on the application, including the address of the prostitute (my emphasis) and all addresses of the prostitute for the preceding three (3) years.”

For what nefarious purpose he wants this information, we don’t know.

What we do know is what happened afterwards, thanks to a public records request of my own I filed a few weeks ago which turned up multiple, previously-unknown communications between Guinasso and the county.

In a letter of response dated December 15, 2017, Lyon County District Attorney Steve Rye denied Guinasso’s request.  Some pertinent excerpts…

“When there is no statutory provision that explicitly declares a record to be confidential, there still may be common law limitations that justify restricting disclosure based upon a balancing of the private and public interests involved. In this case the privacy and law enforcement concerns are significant.

“First, in order to work as prostitutes, persons are required to file the application.  It is not a voluntary application with Lyon County.  The Sheriff undergoes a criminal background check of applicants, and as a result, applicants provide social security numbers, aliases, addresses for the last three years, alien registration number or passport number and other personal information, including tattoos, piercings and major scars.

“The applicant is also required to provide emergency contact information, and the name and contact information is often provided without that person’s knowledge.  The applicant also lists the criminal history, information which is generally viewed as confidential.

“This is all private information that should not be shared with the public.  Similar information is provided by gaming employees and such information should also be kept confidential.

“Law enforcement reasons also justify keeping the applications confidential.  Legal prostitution is highly regulated in Lyon County.  The names and identities of the workers needs to be protected so that customers and others are not able to identify addresses and other information for the prostitutes without their consent or knowledge.

“Prostitutes are more likely to be victims of crime (my emphasis) in many instances.  People may look up names and seek to contact those applicants at their residence.  This could lead to an increase in crime and a threat to the workers.  Release of the applications would likely subject the applicants to an unreasonable risk of harm.  Confidentiality of the identity of these applicants is paramount.”

Bravo to Mr. Rye.  But Guinasso didn’t give up. As I said, he’s obsessed.

In a letter of response dated June 8, 2018, Guinasso wrote that “we believe your office has erred in denial of production of the requested records,” arguing that the DA’s concern for the safety of sex workers was “conjectural at best.”

But Mr. Rye stood by his decision and did not provide the records.  So Guinasso did what people like Guinasso do when they don’t get their way: He filed a lawsuit.

On August 9, 2018, Guinasso sued Lyon County, arguing that Mr. Rye and the county “have no basis…to withhold the requested records.”

In a follow-up letter dated August 16, 2018, Lyon County Administrative Director Michael Carlson provided a cost estimate for providing copies of the work applications with all personal, private information REDACTED (blacked out).

“(W)e estimate the cost to be not more than $3,777.00,” Mr. Carlson wrote.  “The final product will involve redacting the following information: social security number, passport number, and/or alien registration number, date of birth, and emergency contact number.”

Guinasso had a cow…and not just because he had only offered to pay up to $45 for the cost to provide the records.

In a letter to Mr. Carlson dated September 12, 2018, Guinasso again claimed the DA’s office had “erred,” arguing that the applications “cannot be reasonably construed to fit the definition of a confidential record.”

“This office again requests to inspect all applications for registration as a prostitute filed with the Lyon County Sheriff for the last ten years pursuant to Lyon County Code 5.03.14.  Please include all information on the application, including the name, date of birth, social security number, passport number, alien number, address, and all addresses of the applicant for the preceding three (3) years.”

In an email dated September 19, 2018, Mr. Rye gave Guinasso a short answer…

“Your assertion that social security numbers are not confidential is contrary to Nevada and federal law.”

I’m no lawyer, but even *I* know that.

However, like Captain Ahab obsessively pursuing Moby Dick, Guinasso continued his pursuit.

And then a strange and alarming thing happened…

On November 13, 2018 – just a week after an anti-brothel advisory question was crushed in Lyon County, 80-20 percent, and Lyon County Sheriff Al McNeil, who was a secret funder of Guinasso’s ballot question, was defeated for re-election – Mr. Carlson flip-flopped and sent the following email to Guinasso…

“Based on discussions with Sheriff McNeil, we want to offer this option for your records request.  Your request asked for 10 years’ worth of records; however, we would like for you to consider revisiting your request to records since 2012.  If this is agreeable, we will not only go ahead and process your request, but do it at no cost to you.”

What the…?

“This is a reasonable resolution,” Guinasso emailed back later that afternoon.  “We accept your proposal.”

To which Mr. Carlson replied…

“Thank you, sir.  We will begin the processing this week and will possibly have it to you by the end of the next week.”

In return, on December 6, 2018, Guinasso withdrew his lawsuit.

But in a letter dated December 20, 2018, Mr. Rye over-ruled Mr. Carlson’s offer to provide the records at no cost, arguing that certain personal and private information HAD to be redacted so that “the records will contain no information to identify the individual applicant.”

Mr. Rye then went to additional great lengths to explain WHY this information on brothel workers must be protected…

“Often times, these workers do not want others to know their identity for protection.  Prostitutes are more likely to be victims of crime (my emphasis), including sex trafficking, sexual assault and other serious crimes.

“Prostitution continues to have negative connotations in society. … Release of the names and contact information for the prostitutes would not only threaten their safety (my emphasis) because of the risk of Johns or others trying to track them down outside of the legal brothel, but it would also expose these women to shame, ridicule, stigma and backlash from the community from their employment as prostitutes.

“This is a nontrivial privacy interest that the County must consider.  For these reasons, the Sheriff has determined it is necessary to redact all information but the date of application.”

Threaten their safety.  Expose them to public shame and ridicule.  Nontrivial.  Strong, valid reasons, indeed.

What is unclear here, though, is whether or not the sheriff referenced by Mr. Rye was the old sheriff – McNeil, who lost his bid for re-election – or the new sheriff who was elected in November to replace him.

In any event, Guinasso was having none of it.

In a letter dated February 1, 2019, Guinasso wrote that “we believe your office has erred in its decision to renege the previously agreed upon terms of disclosure of the requested records.”

He continued…

“As you are already aware, this office has withdrawn a complaint filed in District Court based on representations by LCSO Administration Director, Michael Carlson, that the requested records would be produced.  Please provide the requested records, or the records offered by M. Carlson on November 13, 2018, WITHIN 5 DAYS (his emphasis) or this office will file for relief from the District Court.”

Responding to Guinasso’s latest threat, Mr. Rye fired back in a letter dated February 13, 2019…

“After careful review, our office has determined the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office is not obligated to release these records to you.  Pursuant to your public records request for the same information, the Sheriff’s office has mailed you a redacted report summarizing the past three years of work card applications, including the first name of the applicant, the date of the application, and the agency issuing the work card.”

While a redacted report is certainly better than providing full unredacted copies of the applications, this concession in releasing first names of brothel workers is still cause for concern.  It’s a potential “camel’s nose under the tent.”

Mr. Rye then proceeded to cite a 2016 “balancing test” court decision which determined that “exotic dancers could use pseudonyms (stage names) and granted a protective order regarding disclosure of their true identities.”

Mr. Rye…

“(The court) considered a balancing of interests of the dancers’ privacy and threatened harm, with the potential prejudice and public interest in open courts, in deciding whether pseudonymity could be granted.  The court concluded that ‘the dancers have expressed legitimate privacy and social stigma concerns, and reasonable concerns that disclosing their identities would expose them to harm.’

“Similarly, release of identifying information of brothel workers create the same if not more legitimate concerns of privacy, social stigma, and threats of harm.  The personal privacy interest in this public records request, therefore, is nontrivial and significant.”

Mr. Rye continued…

“Second, your public records (request) does not assert a public interest other than a ‘public right to access.’ … 

“The fact that you are seeking the records ‘pursuant to an investigation in anticipation of litigation’ does not provide any insight into the public interest you think is significant nor how release of the records would advance the interest.

“In this case, the nontrivial risk of an increase in crime or harm to the applicants greatly outweighs the public interest asserted.”

That’s the last communication I received as part of my public records request.  But based on past history and previous behavior, it’s reasonable to assume Guinasso has or will continue his obsessive pursuit.

And while Mr. Rye has been a mensch thus far in protecting the safety and privacy rights of brothel workers, that’s not to say another DA in another county would do the same under similar circumstances if Guinasso moves his “great white whale” pursuit outside Lyon County.

Nor does that mean a judge won’t interpret the situation differently from Mr. Rye should a Guinasso lawsuit reach his or her court.

Indeed, as Mr. Rye noted in his very first response to Guinasso’s request, “there is no statutory provision that explicitly declares” brothel worker applications “to be confidential.”

And that’s what legislators need to fix before adjourning.

All the Nevada Legislature needs to do is amend the current public record statute to explicitly declare that the work card applications for commercial sex workers in Nevada’s legal brothels are confidential, just like gaming employees.

That would put an immediate end to Guinasso’s crusade in Lyon County and prevent him from expanding it into other counties.  It would also remove a “gray area” in law that could potentially result in a court overruling District Attorney Rye.

Guinasso’s obsessive fishing expedition poses an immediate and ongoing danger to the health and safety of the women working in legal brothels.  It’s a threat that legislators should eliminate now – while they’re still in session – not wait for the completion of a two-year study.

So let it be written; so let it be done.

Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a limited-government grassroots advocacy organization.

 

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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