Did you know prostitution is legal in much of Nevada? You don't say? Actually, probably more of a surprise to people is that prostitution is illegal in all of Clark County including Las Vegas. But the legal brothels outside the county have been banned by State law from doing any advertising of their services in Las Vegas. So, you don't see in Vegas billboards for the Chicken Ranch (about an hour by car from Vegas) the way you do for topless bars and topless shows and, ahem, "private dancers" who go direct to your hotel room.

 

Anyway, a Federal judge yesterday struck down the laws banning brothel advertisements on First Amendment grounds. Gary Peck of the ACLU crows to the Review-Journal: "Violations of anyone's free speech rights are in a sense violations of everyone's free speech rights." So, I guess I can feel a little more free to speak out because brothels can advertise on billboards? A proud moment for the founding fathers, indeed.

 

Actually, the Nevada brothel industry seems sort of nervous about this victory. Especially in Southern Nevada, legal brothels have tried traditionally to keep a very low profile by avoiding using famous porn stars as guest workers or making HBO specials. That stuff is common up in Northern Nevada and has helped those brothels get attention despite the advertising ban. But the fear among the legal brothels down here in Southern Nevada (where changing demographics mean many newcomers lack the Nevada libertarian spirit) is that they are especially vulnerable to extinction. After all, legal brothels are always only one commision vote away from becoming as illegal as  brothels are in the rest of the country.

 

In general, I suspect that most of the brothel owners, after this ruling, are not planning to rent gigantic billboards in Vegas. But over time that may change.  Also, wild cards like Dennis Hoff and Heidi Fleiss are in Nevada who might refuse to play along with the other owners' cautious approach.