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October 31, 2020 By Chuck Muth

Sisolak Sued by Prostitute

(Chuck Muth) – Alice Little – her trade name, not her real name – is a licensed sex worker at one of Nevada’s legal brothels that has been shuttered by “emergency” order since last St. Patrick’s Day.

And on Friday she sued Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.

“The brothels have been closed for more than half of this year,” Little said in an interview with KTNV-TV13.  “Sex workers like me are suffering financially and emotionally. We have minimal options for economic relief and limited alternative employment opportunities due to our stigmatized work history.”

Nevada is the only live-and-let-live state in the country that allows legal prostitution – but only in licensed and regulated brothels.  And only in a handful of the state’s rural counties.

In addition, the legal brothel industry is the only legal industry in the state that has not been allowed to reopen in some limited form during the governor’s now 8-month-long shutdown due to the coronavirus.

Little argues it’s discriminatory and unconstitutional.   And it is.

“The Nevada Constitution affords constitutional protections to the freedom of association,” the 4’8” working lady notes in her suit.  “This liberty protects against government interference with an individual’s choice to enter into and maintain certain intimate or private relationships.”

Little is being represented by the Randazza Legal Group, which has a history of fighting for the legal brothel industry in Nevada.  And lead attorney Marc Randazza is no shrinking violet, especially when it comes to defending constitutional rights.

“Nevada sex workers are issued licenses by the government,” Randazza argues, “and they have a property interest in these licenses which may only be suspended after the licensees are afforded due process.”

Which they’ve been denied.

“By not permitting her to engage in the act of legal sex work without conducing any type of hearing,” Randazza continues, “Gov. Sisolak has unconstitutionally deprived Plaintiff Little of a protectable property interest by effectively revoking her license.”

“Defendant’s refusal to allow brothels to reopen is particularly arbitrary given that Gov. Sisolak announced the resumption of all other economic activity in the State of Nevada on August 3, 2020.  He has, without any rational basis, decided to single out brothels.”

Randazza goes on to note that other “similarly situated businesses” – such as casinos, bars, bowling alleys, gyms, dentists, movie theaters, hair salons, pools, spas and tattoo shops – have been allowed to reopen…

“If it is safe for a customer to get a massage at a massage parlor, then it should be safe for a customer to visit a legal sex worker if COVID-19 precautions are taken.  In the alternative, if the Governor insists on closing brothels, then licensed sex workers should still be permitted to utilize their licenses to ply their legal trade at their own residences or in private locations, as long as they are sanitary and follow COVID guidelines.”

Which raises this question…

Would you rather have prostitution taking place legally in a regulated, off-the-beaten-path brothel…or in the house across your street?

The reality is that COVID-19 is NOT spread through sexual contact.  The science says so.  Health professionals – including a doctor at the Mayo Clinic – say so.

And as long as the state’s legal brothels follow all the same safety protocols as massage parlors and dentists with their fingers in your mouth, there’s no rational excuse for keeping them closed.

If Gov. Sisolak doesn’t want to take the responsibility for reopening our legal brothels for political or moral reasons, then he should defer the decision to the elected members of the various county commissions – just as he’s deferred similar decisions to the Gaming Control Board, the local school boards, and his COVID Task Force.

Today is Nevada Day.  We’re the Battle Born state, not the Puritan state.

Today would be the perfect day to immediately reopen our brothels rather than waste the time, effort and money to fight this out in court.  We have far bigger problems to worry about.

(Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach and adviser to the Nevada Brothel Association PAC.  He blogs at MuthsTruths.com.  His views are his own.)

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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