Letter: We should legalize victimless crimes

Monday, May 24, 1999 | 10:07 a.m.

Instead of trying to figure out why we are having this problem, the commissioners came up with an ordinance prohibiting the passing out of commercial handbills. Although the ACLU warned numerous times about the constitutional problems, the commission proceeded anyway. The new law (like the last anti-handbill law) is very likely to be struck down in court, needlessly costing county taxpayers large sums in legal fees.

The real problem is the prohibition on prostitution that exists in Clark County. Let's face it, certain people coming to Las Vegas will always be looking for sexual services. That's just part of the Las Vegas experience for them. As long as there is a demand, the providers will find a way to fulfill it. Passing new laws to restrict our rights will not fix the problem.

The easy solution is to legalize brothel-style prostitution in Clark County. It is already legal in many counties in Nevada. Studies have shown that sexually transmitted diseases are practically nonexistent in legal prostitution settings. Best of all it keeps it off the streets. Then people who do not want to see it don't have to, while those that are looking for sexual services can have a clean, healthy and legitimate experience.

Let's stop wasting our time with victimless crimes such as prostitution. People should be free to live their lives as they choose, so long as they don't harm or defraud others. By adopting policies of freedom and responsibility, we can't go wrong.

CHRIS AZZARO, State director, Libertarian Party of Nevada