Editorial: Las Vegas’ shame

Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007 | 7:16 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman tells New York Times columnist Bob Herbert there should be a discussion of legalizing prostitution in Clark County and suggests there would be "tremendous" benefits of the "magnificent brothels" that would be built to attract johns.

Goodman tells Herbert "anything goes - as long as you don't go over the line."

The mayor's statements aren't all that surprising - he has said before that Las Vegas should consider legalizing prostitution, but that doesn't make them any less idiotic or repugnant. Goodman's statements underscore the thoughtless libertarian attitude that some people cling to in Nevada. Prostitution, they reason, is a "victimless" crime. Live and let live. "What happens here, stays here."

Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

Herbert, whose column appears on Page 5, notes a new report by research psychologist Melissa Farley, who studied the sex trade in Nevada and found the region to be "the epicenter of North American prostitution and sex trafficking."

Herbert argues that Las Vegas is "a world-class embarrassment" to U.S. efforts to reduce prostitution and human trafficking.

And it is no wonder why. Even though prostitution is illegal in Clark County, it flourishes here through escort services and other legal businesses. Look in the phone book. There are more than 150 pages of ads for such businesses. There are also the moving billboards all over town.

It is no wonder so many people think prostitution is legal here. After all, prostitution has flourished in the state, legally and illegally. There are, Farley found, women from around the world who have been enslaved in the sex trade and forced into prostitution here to feed the demand.

Too many Southern Nevadans are complicit, having turned a blind eye. Goodman should be ashamed of suggesting a discussion on expanding prostitution to Las Vegas. Prostitution is not the answer to expanding the economy or the tourist base. It is a crime, and it should stay that way.

Authorities instead should be moving quickly to crack down on prostitution and end the horrific crime of human trafficking.