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The state of Nevada is the only jurisdiction in the United States where prostitution is permitted. Strictly regulated brothels operate legally in isolated rural areas, away from the majority of Nevada's population. Prostitution is illegal in the following counties: Clark (which contains Las Vegas), Washoe (which contains Reno), Douglas, and Lincoln. Prostitution is also illegal in Nevada's capital, Carson City, an independent city. The rest of Nevada's counties are permitted by state law to license brothels, but only 8 counties have done so. As of August 2013, there are 19 brothels in Nevada. Despite there being a legal option, the vast majority of prostitution in Nevada takes place illegally in Reno and Las Vegas. About 66 times more money is spent by customers on illegal prostitution in Nevada than in the regulated brothels.〔 == History == Brothels have been allowed in Nevada since the middle of the 19th century. One brothel in Elko has been in business since 1902. 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 districts of 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.〔 In 1971, Joe Conforte, owner of a brothel called Mustang Ranch, near Reno, managed to convince county officials to pass an ordinance which would provide for the licensing of brothels and prostitutes, thus avoiding the threat of being closed down as a public nuisance. Officials in Las Vegas, afraid that Conforte would use the same technique to open a brothel nearby, convinced the legislature, in 1971, to pass a law prohibiting the legalization of prostitution in counties with a population above a certain threshold, tailored to apply only to Clark County.〔 In 1977, county officials in Nye County tried to shut down Walter Plankinton's 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, and so the Chicken Ranch was allowed to operate. In another case, brothel owners in 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. 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 grounds, but in 1981, the Nevada Supreme Court declared it to be constitutional. (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.〔(Chicken Ranch Brothel Finally to Advertise in Las Vegas ), LasVegasNow.com, 31 August 2007〕〔(Ban lifted, Nevada's legal brothels can now advertise ), ''San Diego Tribune'', July 29, 2007.〕 In March 2010, the district judge's decision was reversed back by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The ACLU has appealed to the full Ninth Circuit Court. While brothels and prostitutes are subject to 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.〔Hennessy, Kathleen. (AP), ("Brothels want to be taxed; Legislature not that greedy" ), ''Pahrump Valley Times'', 2005-05-13, Retrieved on 2007-07-24.〕 Brothels pay taxes to their respective counties. Lyon County receives approximately $400,000 to $500,000 per year from these taxes. In November 2005, former prostitute and madam Heidi Fleiss said that she would partner with 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.〔(Heidi Fleiss gives up on plan for brothel for women ). Las Vegas Review Journal. Posted: February 10, 2009, Updated: April 15, 2009.〕 On December 11, 2009, the Nevada State Board of Health unanimously agreed to add urethral examinations to the guidelines, thus allowing male sex workers to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.〔Allen, Marshall (2009-12-11). New era: Health authorities open brothels to male prostitutes. Las Vegas Sun, December 11, 2009. Retrieved on 2011-06-18 from http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec/11/new-era-health-authorities-open-brothels-male-pros/.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Prostitution in Nevada」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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