Editorial: Rubbing them the wrong way

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2001 | 10:23 a.m.

The Henderson City Council should take seriously a proposal that would significantly change how it regulates massage therapists. At its Aug. 21 meeting, the Henderson City Council will vote on a new ordinance that would allow massage therapists to travel to a home or a hotel room and give a massage to a person of the opposite sex. Currently opposite-sex massages only are allowed on the premises of a licensed business, a requirement that is uniform throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

A principal reason for the valleywide ban on opposite-sex, outcall massages is the opposition by Metro Police, which covers Las Vegas and the unincorporated areas of Clark County. Metro Police worries that these massages will become fronts for prostitution. But the massage industry today is remarkably different than in years past, and for the most part it is viewed as a mainstream business that offers massages -- and nothing more. The Henderson Police Department even is supporting the proposed ordinance, noting that there are a lot of legitimate massage therapists in practice in Henderson.

Spas that offer therapeutic massages are popular in the Las Vegas Valley. All the major hotel-casinos have spas, which is a part of Las Vegas' transformation into a resort destination -- it no longer is just a gambling town. The Lake Las Vegas resort, which is in Henderson, supports the ordinance change because it would like to send its massage therapists to the rooms of hotel guests; on some occasions the resort simply doesn't have enough space in its spa rooms to meet all the demand.

It also should be noted that massage therapists still would be regulated by the city of Henderson. In order to get a license, a massage therapist would have to complete 700 hours of study, pass a nationally certified test and obtain a police work card, which requires a background check of the applicant.

In today's world, more and more businesses are bringing their products or services directly to the customer's doorstep. It's not unreasonable to allow massage therapists to offer this same convenience.