Prostitution In Nevada Essay

Nevada has long been home to libertarian ideals and consequently this state has tolerated prostitution, particularly in mining towns, since its inception. In fact, Mona’s in Elko, which has been open since 1902, is the oldest existing brothel in Nevada. This is the only state that didn’t pass wide-ranging prostitution laws, although pandering and street-prostitution were outlawed in 1911 and 1913. Nevada’s legislators obviously valued laissez faire concepts, but they also implemented some basic regulatory measures by not allowing brothels to be located near churches or schools, nor on main streets. Furthermore, in 1937, Nevada’s State Board of Health began requiring prostitutes working in brothels to submit to tests for venereal diseases.

However, state sanctioned prostitution was a deal breaker during WWII for the federal officials who were considering building a nearby military base. Thus, the local authorities naturally compromised and shut down the red-light district in exchange for Nellis Air Force Base being built in their city. Again, prostitution wasn’t illegal in Nevada, but those local officials were able to put an end to Block 16 by enforcing “public nuisance” statutes. This same type of legal issue resurfaced a few years later in Reno when a madam challenged whether the local police had the authority to shut down her business. Ultimately, the judge ruled that the county commissioners and the District Attorney had the right to close a brothel if it was considered a “public nuisance.” Conversely, that also meant that a brothel could operate legally as long as the area’s residents weren’t bothered by its presence in the

However, he miscalculated his own status as an underworld figure after he was arrested on vagrancy charges in 1959. That was one instance when he couldn’t buy his way out of trouble. He then compounded his problems by trying to frame the District Attorney of Washoe County, NV into dropping the charges. As a result, he received a sentence of 3 ½ years for extortion, but this wasn’t hard time served in prison. “A guy like me goes to prison and you have it about as good as you can get because I had so much juice (power),” he boasted. “I was running a casino inside the prison and had a cook, a maid and for $3 a week, a guy to fan me while I played