Reid's prostitution remarks ignite debate in Nevada

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   Stacie Lposted 14 years ago

   Reid's prostitution remarks ignite debate in Nevada
   
   
   LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – When Harry Reid, the veteran Democratic senator from Nevada, brought up the idea last month of abolishing prostitution in the state, he did so almost as an aside -- a few lines in an eight-page speech.
   
   But his remarks touched a nerve in Nevada, the only state with legal brothels, and the resulting debate has reverberated through the Las Vegas mayor's race.
   
   Nevada allows brothels in counties with fewer than 400,000 residents. That leaves out Clark County and its main city, Las Vegas, a popular gambling and resort center with a reputation as "Sin City."
   
   The state has been home to legal brothels since the early 1970s, currently numbering two dozen.
   
   But Reid, the Senate majority leader, complained that legalized prostitution lent the wrong image to businesses interested in relocating to Nevada, a potential loss of jobs the state can ill afford.
   
   
   Within days, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman headed in the opposite direction, repeating an idea he has floated more than once in his nearly 12 years in office -- make prostitution legal in the city and create a Wild West version of Amsterdam
   
   http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_nevada_prostitution
   
   Does legal prostitution lead to more problems or less?
   I'm not sure...

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      vettergtposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I have asked a similar question when states institute gambling/lotteries which tend to be a tax on the poor.  While more money comes in through taxes, the state also finds it needs to spend more on social services and correctional facilities.  Does it balance?  Even if the taxes received are higher then the costs, there is a social cost: the fact that personal morals and the community mores have declined with the introduction of a negative influence. 
      But, Las Vegas is one place where you could argue that because of the reputation, the community mores would not decline.  Furthermore, while prostitution is not legal in Las Vegas, it still occurs and probably at a higher rate than the other 12 brothels combined.  Finally, most of the "sins" that occur in Las Vegas leave on a plane within 72 hours.  Generally speaking, I would say it leads to more problems.  If there is one exception, it is Las Vegas.

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      Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Harry Reid actually said something sensible?
      Wow.

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      tony0724posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Does legal prostitution lead to more problems or less?
      
      Harry Reid is a prostitute. I can't help but laugh at the Irony

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   knolyourselfposted 14 years ago

   "Does legal prostitution lead to more problems or less?
   I'm not sure..." Less.

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   callumfoxposted 14 years ago

   Well, when something is legalized the problems surrounding it tend to lessen as well as just turn into new ones.  Legalized prostitution would mean the people working in the industry are not on the street.  They also must be routinely tested.  Their working environment is safer in comparison.  This also means that customers are not breaking the law.  The brothels also usually contain bars or clubs, so other forms of work are supported by the industry.  Since these businesses are legal, they are also taxable and must operate within the law.  The only real issues are ones of morality (another topic entirely separate from the business and legal standpoints.)
   
   If similar laws were passed for Clark County, I can only imagine that legal brothels might help improve Vegas's tourism or at least increase the taxes coming into Nevada.  Again, the main problems with this are moral issues, which, in the interests of keeping a short and non-flamey post, I will not delve into.

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   TomC35posted 14 years ago

   I do not see anymore jobs coming here to the bible belt than there so I do not think the prostitution helps, nor hurts.  It is just not a big factor for businesses to consider.  They have more pressing concerns.

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