Editing Prostitution in Nevada (section)

== History ==
[[File:Shady Lady Ranch 2, brothel, Nye County, Nevada 045.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Shady Lady Ranch]] in [[Nye County, Nevada]].]]
Prostitution has been present in Nevada since the early days of statehood. Historically, Nevada's legislature considered prostitution a local issue, leaving it up to counties and cities to regulate, with only minimal regulation at state level, namely prohibiting brothels near schools or churches.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://knpr.org/show/nevada-yesterdays/2021-02-27/nevada-yesterdays|title=A brief history of brothels in Nevada|website=Nevada Public Radio &#124; KNPR}}</ref> In 1937, a law was enacted to require weekly health checks of all prostitutes. In 1942, President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] issued an order to suppress prostitution near military bases—affecting the [[red-light district]]s of [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]] and [[Las Vegas]]. When this order was lifted in 1948, Reno officials tried to shut down a brothel as a public nuisance; this action was upheld by the [[Nevada Supreme Court]] in 1949. In 1951, both Reno and Las Vegas had closed their red-light districts as public nuisances, but brothels continued to exist throughout the state.<ref name=Alexa/>

In 1971, [[Joe Conforte]], owner of a brothel called [[Mustang Ranch]], near [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]], in [[Storey County]], convinced county officials to enact an ordinance which would provide for the licensing of brothels and prostitutes, thus avoiding the threat of being closed down as a public nuisance.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Rocha |first1=Guy |date=August 4, 1999 |title=Nevada State Library and Archives |url=http://www.bunnyranch.com/news/history/Nevada_State_Library_and_Archives/ |access-date=October 2, 2012 |publisher=Bunny Ranch}}</ref>

Officials in Las Vegas, afraid that Conforte would use the same technique to open a brothel nearby, convinced the legislature, in 1971, to enact legislation prohibiting the legalization of prostitution in counties with a population above a certain threshold, tailored to apply only to [[Clark County, Nevada|Clark County]].<ref name=NRS244/>

In 1977, county officials in [[Nye County, Nevada|Nye County]] tried to shut down Walter Plankinton's [[Chicken Ranch (Nevada)|Chicken Ranch]] as a public nuisance; brothels did not have to be licensed in that county at the time, and several others were operating. Plankinton filed suit, claiming that the 1971 state law had implicitly removed the assumption that brothels are public nuisances ''per se''. The [[Nevada Supreme Court]] agreed with this interpretation in 1978,<ref>{{Cite court | litigants=Nye County v. Plankinton |vol=94 |reporter=P.2d |opinion=739 |pinpoint=421 |court=Nev |date=1978 }}</ref> and so the Chicken Ranch was allowed to operate. In another case, brothel owners in [[Lincoln County, Nevada|Lincoln County]] protested when the county outlawed prostitution in 1978, having issued licenses for seven years. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled, however, that the county had the right to do so.<ref name="Kuban">{{cite court |litigants=Kuban v. McGimsey |vol=96 | opinion=105 |pinpoint=110 |court=Nev |date=1980 |url=http://www.nevadaindex.com/kuban.pdf |access-date=October 2, 2012 }}</ref>

A state law prohibiting the advertising of brothels in counties which have outlawed prostitution was enacted in 1979. It was promptly challenged on [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] grounds, but in 1981, the Nevada Supreme Court declared it to be constitutional.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=March 1, 2005 |title=Princess Sea Industries v. State of Nevada |url=http://www.nevadaobserver.com/Princess%20Sea%20Industries%20v%20State%20of%20Nevada.htm |url-status=dead |journal=Nevada Observer |volume=2 |issue=9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118075804/http://www.nevadaobserver.com/Princess%20Sea%20Industries%20v%20State%20of%20Nevada.htm |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |access-date=October 3, 2011}}</ref>  (Princess Sea Industries, one of the parties involved in the case, was Plankinton's company that owned the Chicken Ranch.) In July 2007, the law was overturned by a U.S. District judge as "overly broad", and advertising in Las Vegas started soon after.<ref name="LVN">{{Cite web |date=August 31, 2007 |title=Chicken Ranch Brothel Finally to Advertise in Las Vegas |url=http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7013382&nav=menu102_1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223508/http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7013382&nav=menu102_1 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |website=LasVegasNow.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 29, 2007 |title=Ban lifted, Nevada's legal brothels can now advertise |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070729/news_1n29brothel.html |website=San Diego Tribune}}</ref> In March 2010, the district judge's decision was reversed back by a three-judge panel of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Federal court: State has right to ban brothel advertising |date=March 11, 2010 |url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/11/federal-court-state-has-right-ban-brothel-advertis/ |work=Las Vegas Sun}}</ref> The ACLU appealed to the [[En banc|full Ninth Circuit Court]] in March 2010.<ref>{{Citation |title=ACLU appeals federal court decision upholding Nevada's brothel ad ban |date=March 25, 2010 |url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/25/aclu-appeals-federal-court-decision-upholding-neva/ |work=Las Vegas Sun}}</ref> It further appealed to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] in 2011, but the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal. The ban on brothels advertising therefore remains in force.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 24, 2011 |title=U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear Ban on Brothel Advertisements |url=https://www.aclunv.org/en/news/us-supreme-court-wont-hear-ban-brothel-advertisements |access-date=May 6, 2018 |website=ACLU of Nevada |language=en}}</ref>

While brothels and prostitutes are subject to [[Income tax in the United States|federal income tax]] and also pay local fees, Nevada has no [[state income tax]], and brothels are exempt from the state entertainment tax and do not pay any other state taxes. In 2005, brothel owners lobbied to be taxed in order to increase the legitimacy of the business, but the legislature declined.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hennessy |first1=Kathleen |date=May 13, 2005 |title=Brothels want to be taxed; Legislature not that greedy |url=http://archive.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2005/05/13/news/brothels.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106010848/http://archive.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2005/05/13/news/brothels.html |archive-date=January 6, 2015 |access-date=July 24, 2007 |website=Pahrump Valley Times}}</ref> Brothels pay taxes to their respective counties. [[Lyon County, Nevada|Lyon County]] receives approximately $400,000 to $500,000 per year from these taxes.<ref>{{Harvnb|Goldman|2012|p=22}}</ref>

In November 2005, former prostitute and madam [[Heidi Fleiss]] said that she would partner with brothel owner [[Joe Richards (brothel owner)|Joe Richards]] to turn Richards' existing [[Cherry Patch Ranch]] brothel in [[Crystal, Nye County, Nevada]], into an establishment that would employ male prostitutes and cater exclusively to female customers, a first in Nevada. In 2009, however, she said that she had abandoned her plans to open such a brothel due to wishing to avoid having to "deal with all the nonsense in the sex business" and preferring to focus on [[renewable energy]] which would be "perfect for Nevada. That's where the money is. That's the wave of the future."<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 10, 2009 |title=Heidi Fleiss gives up on plan for brothel for women|url=http://www.lvrj.com/news/39357657.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310084421/http://www.lvrj.com/news/39357657.html |archive-date=March 10, 2010 |access-date=April 15, 2009 |website=Las Vegas Review Journal}}</ref>

On December 11, 2009, the Nevada State Board of Health unanimously agreed to add [[urethra]]l examinations to the guidelines, thus allowing male sex workers to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Marshall |date=December 11, 2009 |title=New era: Health authorities open brothels to male prostitutes |work=Las Vegas Sun |url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec/11/new-era-health-authorities-open-brothels-male-pros/ |access-date=December 11, 2015}}</ref>