Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
A handbiller outside the Flamingo just north of Flamingo Road on the Strip passes out cards for an escort service in May 2010.
Thursday, May 6, 2010 | 2 a.m.
Reader poll
Sun archives
- Anti-handbill signs must come down (11-22-1999)
- Strip ban on handbills challenged (5-11-1998)
- Critics claim handbill ban unconstitutional (1-22-1997)
Steve Sisolak
Chris Giunchigliani
Tom Collins
In yet another effort to address the Strip’s most notorious eyesores, Clark County commissioners are preparing to ban the “smut racks” that dot the famous roadway and restrict when and where the hordes of outcall-service handbillers can distribute glossy cards featuring near-naked women.
If the fight moves forward, it will add another chapter to the Strip’s decades-long history as a First Amendment battleground.
Clark County archives and local newspaper morgues are filled with stories, legal documents and e-mails documenting the officials’ numerous previous attempts. For more than 20 years, private attorneys have racked up countless billable hours thwarting the county’s efforts on behalf of outcall services.
Every time the county comes up with a new restriction, it has either been watered down or altogether defeated by legal challenges.
Currently, handbillers operate without restriction. But news racks in the resort corridor cannot stand in a public right-of-way or impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic. They must also be kept clean and free of graffiti, cannot be taller than 50 inches and can only be placed in permitted locations.
Despite the county’s losing record on the issue, elected officials appear optimistic about a new fight. This time they want to consider a ban on all news racks on the Strip, force the licensing of handbillers and limit where they can work.
At the urging of casino owners, Commissioners Tom Collins, Chris Giunchigliani and Steve Sisolak strolled the Strip on Friday night with casino executives to get a feel for what’s going on.
They were surprised at the piles of cards on the ground, created by tourists immediately dropping them once they realize what they’ve been handed. The aggressiveness of some handbillers also caught their attention.
Collins said he got “face to face” with one handbiller, who crossed the sidewalk to shove a card at him.
“I said, ‘You know, you can go to jail for that. That’s harassing tourists,’ ” he said. “It seems to have gotten out of control.”
Sisolak said he went back by himself Saturday night, and the handbillers were “much more aggressive,” pressing the glossy cards into his chest at least a dozen times as he walked along the Strip.
“I saw one (tourist) couple actually go into the street to avoid them,” he said.
Giunchigliani said she wants to try a less adversarial approach to address the situation. She wants to meet with the American Civil Liberties Union, casinos, outcall businesses and county staff to discuss what can be done.
“Let’s figure out a way to make this livable for everybody,” she said.
Attorney Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel for the ACLU of Nevada, said his organization would be willing to sit down with the county, but finding common ground would be difficult because such restrictions inevitably infringe on free speech rights.
“You can’t restrict those you don’t like and allow those you do, even in a town that sometimes thinks that the Constitution only applies to certain industries,” he said. “We’re not talking about passing out handbills in front of your home. We’re talking about the Las Vegas Strip — you know, Sin City ... ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.’ Not my words, the government’s words.”
Giunchigliani, however, thinks there is legal precedent for a news rack challenge.
In 2004, a U.S. District Court upheld Boston’s banning of all news racks in a tourist area where they were considered unsightly and unfitting. Because all news racks were banned, the court said the ban did not discriminate.
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled in a case challenging an all-around news rack ban, but a 1993 ruling by the court seems to support the Boston decision. In that case, Cincinnati banned some news racks, arguing they posed safety hazards and only distributed “commercial handbills.” In ruling against the city, the court agreed with a ban based on safety or aesthetic reasons, but ruled Cincinnati’s ban was unconstitutional because it still allowed newspaper racks. Therefore, it discriminated.
Yet First Amendment lawyer Dominic Gentile said trying to restrict handbillers and news racks would be “foolish.”
“They are going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars of government employee time,” Gentile said. “And they’re going to get nothing more out of it than the endorsement of the lunatic fringe conservative. If they had to spend their own money on it, then I’d be all for it, because I can tell you who’s going to be enriched by it — me.”
Gentile, who is Sisolak’s attorney, added that he would be “highly surprised if (Sisolak) took a position that amounted to nothing more than political posturing and pandering to the sensibilities of people who are offended by content.”
Sisolak countered that county officials are “not offended by the content.”
“I’m offended by the physical intimidation that exists,” he said of the handbillers.
As for the news racks, he sees a ban that eliminates all of them as fair because so few newspapers use them anymore.
For example, the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s circulation department said it has no news racks on the Strip; the Sun is distributed inside the Review-Journal.
“I can’t remember buying a newspaper from a rack,” Sisolak said. “I’ve bought them from stores, but does anybody buy them from news racks anymore?”
As they toured the Strip, the commissioners were also taken aback by abandoned orange traffic cones on the street, dirt caked on sidewalks and what they thought was a lack of concern by some casinos for the appearance of their properties.
Those issues are going to be addressed first, said Giunchigliani, who will meet with county staff today to put together a plan of attack.
“I understand keeping things up is a hassle, but we have to be concerned about our image,” she said, adding that homeless people were drinking and “camping” on walkways that pass over busy Strip intersections.
After the Strip’s upkeep is addressed, she hopes to take another crack at handbillers and news racks.
“All of this is about perception,” she said. “Vegas is jazzy, innovative — yeah, it’s sexy, too. But you don’t have to be in people’s faces with the sex.”
ban all racks...
regulate the hell out of the panhandlers...
that smut does far more harm than good...
the litter alone should be enough to eliminate it...
it is a disgrace...
first amendment my butt...
and remember boys and girls...
birdie is a proud bleeding heart liberal...
but this crap has got to stop...
what is wrong with some sin in a city built around sin?
Maybe if the escort/prostitution business was legalized, then there would be no real need to people to hand out cards..
People from around the world come to Vegas to sin, if you remove the sin people won't visit, after all what else can they do? Eat eat eat and then cost the economy money when they are obese and ill
Lets get some undercover police out there and if you are physically touched by one of these handbillers, arrest them. Can this be called harassment or assault ? I'm not a legal mind, but if these folks touch you, it should be illegal in some way. I've found the best way to avoid these folks is to just walk in a straight line, no eye contact, and do not slow down or reach out your hand, as they will put an ad in your hand.
Why dont we just build a walkway that goes down the center of the strip and then feeds off to each casino. If the casino owners build it then they will own it and can dictate what is there and not there. Oh wait we already tried that. Monorail. Good luck with your fight and more money lost.
I support free speech but NOT commercial speech especially when these folks are litterin' the Strip with their crap!
" homeless people were drinking and "camping" on walkways that pass over busy Strip intersections."
That's not all that goes on up on these platforms. Crime is getting worse up there, and if Metro doesn't do something about it, the tourists are really gonna stay away.
There are much bigger fish to fry than hand-billers and news stands. How about diversifying the economy? Why pour more money the city and county can't afford to try to put more people out of business and out of work.
I agree they are annoying, but visitors expect the town to be somewhat raunchy and many are here to let out their inner freak. They expect to experience things here they've never experienced anywhere else and like it or not that is part of it.
This is not a kid friendly or bible thumper friendly town. This is Las Vegas, not the bible belt. If you don't like the sex, gambling, smoking, drinking, etc, then nobody is holding you hostage, move somewhere else where you're not so offended!
Like it or not, this city was built on what was illegal every where else in the country at the time. Hence the name Sin City.
I am so sick and tired of the religious right and the moral minority moving to the city and trying to change it into Hooterville. Keep banning this and that and you will destroy the goose that lays the golden eggs in this city then what will be left?
You can't legislate morality and when you try then you just create a bigger problem.
will they also ban that rack of "what's on" magazines there in front of the fashion show mall?
how do you tell one publisher they can't have have THEIR stuff on the strip, but another publisher can?
and yes...go to one of those crosswalks around 2:00pm...the lady in the 7 inch stripper heels...umm...she's not a tourist.
Hmmm, maybe if we had an immigration law like Arizona.....
There's a simple solution to this. And it don't involve commissioners playing polite police and censor schnooks and worried about traffic cones and other insignificant stuff.
Somebody tries to hand you stuff on the Strip? Don't take it.
Magazine racks? Don't use them.
There's litter on the sidewalks from handbills? Complain to the casino. I'm sure they'll send someone out front pronto to clean it up.
These commissioners seem to have too much time on their hands and are looking really, really hard for trivial stuff that "offends" them, acting as if they are tourists. And they're not tourists.
I need to remind these idiots that this is sin city. People come here, they really don't expect they are stepping into a church, temple, synagogue and/or mosque.
If the commissioners have this much time on their hands looking for stuff, that means they're not doing their job and need to be booted out of office and replaced.
Really, really dumb.
I don't think anyone reasonably thinks that the County is trying to "legislate morality".
What the County is trying to accomplish is to greatly reduce the unsightly litter, and to regulate the "card pushers" so that they do not hassle the tourists, especially in front of the Monte Carlo and New York, New York.
It is a very visible problem and needs to be better controlled.
Perhaps the County could lease the sidewalks to the casinos, which could then ban the card pushers from "private property".
This is another case of government intruding where they don't belong. This is Las Vegas, where prostitution and gambling is a main part of the economy. These women deserve their right to work at a well paying job. This is just a bunch of old prudish people trying to impose their religious dogma.
Trying to hide the truth is stupid and a waste of time.
This money and effort can be better spent on NOT CUTTING county jobs and upgrading public facilities to save more energy and tax money in the future.
We should sell the sidewalks to the casinos and let them maintain it. I am sure they will run their new private property much better than the city can. It will allow them to do what ever they want and it will raise funds for the city too.
Simple solutions.
1. Check all identification of all handbillers regardless of sex, race or national origin.
2. Require all handbillers to be licensed and carry proof of idnetification at all times while working.
3. Have IRS check all companies that employ handbillers and make them prove that they are collecting taxes.
4.Have ICE work the strip once a month and then go after the employers, like they did with McDonalds in Reno. If ICE refuses, encourage the Reno McDonalds to file a discrimination lawsuit against ICE.
#1 public property is the spirit of democracy, once all property is private freedom is limited.
case in point, culinary protests in front of the venetian, to stop it they allowed LVSands to purchase the sidewalks which then became private property, which then allowed the LVSands corp to regulate who could be there.
#2 It is pornographic material, and there are people who live down there, I say if their children are forced to be exposed to it, so should the families in summerlin, equal oppurtunity right.
Every great city has a red light district except Vegas. Create one and make all the strip clubs, adult stores and smut peddlers move there.
Immigration, morals, enforcement of existing laws, applying the law, all of these things the county does not have or do.
Here's a serious solution!
Enact a laws that requires adult businesses to pay a 1 cent per card deposit for the privelege of handing out printed items on the strip and then offer that 1 cent back at a smut redemption center.
All the homeless people could go around picking up old cards and cashing them in to make booze and cigarette money.
Any cards kept by tourists would mean that the county could keep that deposit which could then go into a fund to help prostitutes wanting to escape from their pimps and the escort lifestyle.
No first amendment rights trampled, cleaner streets, income for the indigent and smut dealers fairly charged to pay the costs of cleaning up the litter they produce.
Sounds fair to me!
"first amendment my butt..." ???????
The same First Amendment that allows you to post anything and everything here...
The First Amendment can not be selective. It applies to all and you are going to have to live with that.
Once you pick one group to stop, where does it stop? What is next? Maybe we can stop the guys knocking on my door Saturday morning asking me if God is hiding in my house? They have seemed to have lost him someplace and are looking at my place.
In addition...If the county really wanted to make "Grime" pay.
They could charge a 2 cent deposit on every handbill and pay people 1 cent for redeeming them. There should be enough money left over to save or create a county job or two. The printed materials could be recycled.
The Supreme Court recently upheld the sale of public land to private entities - for religious purposes (the cross in a public park case). Since even that extreme sales is legal, why not sell the sidewalk area to the casinos that own that area of the strip and simply let them police the sidewalk as they see fit? Private companies can tell the handbill guys to leave and have them arrested for trespassing if they do not. They would also be more likely to keep up these areas if they owned them.
Anyone know what they pay the people who hand those cards out?
here's a real way to combat the litter issue which seems like the only way to really deal with this problem.
every attempt to get rid of these guys has focused on content and delivery...that's never going to work.
how are you going to tell someone "hey, you can't hand out YOUR flyer, but bebe can have 20 billboards on the strip"?
put up a sign every 50 yards or so reminding tourists that littering on the strip is a $1,000 fine. throw a few up at the baggage claim at the airport and put some on the buses.
then post a cop about 20 feet down wind of these guys so when fred from ohio throws that paper on the ground...BOOM...he gets a $1,000 fine.
and ENFORCE THE LAW!
the word will get out pretty quick and soon nobody will be taking those cards and soon these guys will go away.
goingbust
yep they get 7 bucks an hour
we approached one and asked, he said it was good pay
I sense a bit of exaggeration here. I walk the strip maybe once or twice a month and the handbillers have never "pressed" their handouts into my chest. Yeah, I agree they are annoying, but they only cover about 1% of the Strip. As for the magazine racks, if someone doesn't like them, they're not required to look at them or take a magazine. It's part of what makes Vegas unique in it's Sin City way. They give this place the Sin City charm that many tourists like to experience. Their covers are actually no worse than the cover of a Maxim of FHM magazine. I guarantee the city were re-named Family Casino Fun Town, we would see tourism drop at its fastest rate yet.
Up Next: No more open-containers on the Strip! -think about it!
You will find no greater proponent of freedom and lack of government intervention than myself. I also freely admit that I enjoy porn, in its place. Having said that - las vegas needs to put an end to these losers handing out stuff on the Strip, or anywhere else for that matter. They are clogging up pedestrian arteries which are already congested to begin with, and they are really irritating to EVERYONE. I could care less about the smutrag bins, but the human peddlers HAVE TO GO. Same goes for the unlicensed riffraff selling water bottles. They all all just clogging up the roads.
As to the porn-slappers on the Strip, an occasional ICE visit might put a damper on their business.
For the "smut racks" I would take a two-pronged attack:
1. Is it legal for this type of material to be readily available to juveniles and"
2. Do their racks block any sidewalk access to wheelchairs, i.e. maybe an ADA approach to a solution?
Also these racks are often in disarray, broken or otherwise causing hazards due to vandalism or natural events, such as high winds. Perhaps a county code regulating their maintenance and upkeep, rigorously enforced by Code Enforcement, would, if nothing else, force these racks to be less of an eyesore.
There are always solutions when a solution is seriously considered.
Start with ID checks. Oops, we need a law like Arizona to start with.
This has nothing to do with free speech. You don't hand out pornography in front of children.
So, apparently by the looks of those in the photograph, these are those "Americans won't take them" jobs we keep touting when we want to justify the need for illegal aliens.
Lets have the actual girls hand their own cards!!
Telemarketers used to have to pay a fee, provide proof of citizenship and couldn't employee convicted felons for any level of employee. Maybe the same set of rules should be in place for peddlers? They were called "licensing requirements".
While in Santa Barbara recently, the same is happening in the high- end tourist areas... unfortunately. Sin City or not, the market share is bountiful.
I've always wondered why the peddlers don't use the sidewalks at McCarran for incoming tourists. Does anyone know?
Hey Meester, wannta meet my seester? nothing more than pimps...I hate this aspect when I visit LV
Lunatic fringe conservatives ? Your practicaly black balled for speaking out for a public option or financial reform. The right to collectively child molest is protected though;since you can make money,however tawdy, at it.
Well obviously you cant ban it all together but something definitely needs to be done. Its out of control.
A hookermobile perhaps!!!
How does the City of Las Vegas keep them off Fremont street? I know the strip is in the county and they have different ordinances.
If you can't stand up for something that offends your sensibilities but harms no one in return then you can't logically stand up for anything without being a complete hypocrite.
That's a unique perspective Noindex.
Someone should look into this, but I do think its a matter of where the majority of incoming tourists reside, which we all know is the Strip area.
I think there is a need for a type of "red light" district as someone pointed out, but I don't think that slows down the peddlers here. I think there would still be people handing out these things to tell people to GO to the Red Light District hah!
I think if you are losing so much money in a First Amendment battle with your attorneys, then the best way to regulate them is to create licensing requirements, charge a bill tax, and ENFORCE IT!
If your cops on bikes can spend hours writing tickets to meet yoru quota, you damn sure could do the same if they violate any of the new ordiances. I'm sure those cops that ride the bicycles could enforce the law easily.
1. Create "per bill" surcharge tax.
2. Create extraordinary fines for violations, such as crossing the sidewalk, making contact, or harrassment. Make the fine $1,000.00 per incident.
3. Require random business checks at headquarters, much like the Health Department does at restaurants.
4. Allow the Surcharge Tax to be used to something that is approved by County Voters.
Here is one potential way that could be used to limit the card flippers and that is by the ADA code requirements for the city sidewalks.
A minimum allowable path of travel based on the volume of people could be established and enforced wherein the card flippers are not allowed to encroach. The same as the "sin boxes" placed along all the streets of this city.
Another show of good faith by the porn purveyors would be to issue name tags for their employees and require them to be displayed. If an employee is rude, they can be identified and dealt with accordingly. The cards should be required to contain information on how to go about reporting abusive employees.
As for the garbage, well that just says they need more garbage cans in the immediate area. Perhaps someone who is doing Community Service as a part of their punishment would be an excellent choice for keeping the area around these people presentable.
Leaving the cards in a fence, as I have seen before, is a violation of the law. this leads to litter. The handbill or card must first be accepted by another person to avoid a penalty. This is already established law.
If someone was to offer the tourists a garbage bag to throw the smut in right after, the majority of them would. Whatever is dropped on the ground can be picked up when the foot traffic is not so heavy. I believe that most people would recognize that at least the County is making a good faith effort to do what is legally allowed. Keep the streets clean.
Sadly it's the tourists who are littering the cards not the billhandlers, but something still needs to be done. I'm still wondering how the City of Las Vegas is able to keep them off Fremont Street.
ban the mobile billboards too.....pollution, danger to drivers, illegal.
The solution is easy and it's only one word; "VICE"
Isn't this Pandering, or Pimping. Living off the earnings of a prostitute? They do earn a percentage of every trick the girls turn.
Prostitution is legal in other counties lets just bring it to the struggling strip,there is alot of unfinish construction that can benefit from it
There are First Amendment rights everywhere in the country. And there is porn and prostitution.
I've been to a lot of other cities in the USA and I haven't seen guys in orange shirts handing out smut cards anywhere else but Las Vegas. Maybe the County Commissioners should make some long-distance phone calls and find out why.
Look at all the ILLEGAL Immagrents handing out those smutt cards. Where are the feds on the strip to pick up all those illegals. Want to save your jobs, how about doing it.
Look, this was something that should have been done years ago, not just during an up-coming election (Roy Reid). The Clark County Commision chaired by Reid seems to be inept at handling issues that everyone wants and demands to be fixed.
Stop trying to turn Las Vegas into Los Angeles, tourists come her because Vegas has always been known as a wild and crazy town that they can enjoy and cut loose in. The more we lock down the less we will see in tourists dollars...
earlyclover perhaps you could help arizona enforce their new law,obviously you have a keen eye to spot illegality
Comment removed by moderator. Comment was in all caps.
This is pathedically laughable; Illegals handing out advertisments for illegal businesses.
We don't want to get into 'profiling' or 'offend' anyone. Right? Besides, someone could loose votes.
The Strip is the Las Vegas Golden Goose. Tourists are the back bone of LV economy. These boxes and smut cards are a black eye in the tourist area. The City should declare the Strip a special tourist zone. Any and all commercial enterprise on the road or sidewalk should require a special licence. Then strictly enforce the bylaw. Clean it up, make it a pleasant area for the tourists, have them want to come back.
Would one of you more versed in our constitutional laws explain to me why this sort of activity is protected.
This isn't a freedom of speech issue, it's a freedom of commercial speech issue.
I can understand why people should be allowed to ramble on and on about whatever fairy tale they happen to believe in, but there isn't anything I could find in the first amendment that allows somebody to shill a product or service for financial gain in a public accessway.
get rid of all handbillers.
Does anyone actually believe that these smut peddlers would be out there if no one was using the services?
These are business people. Business people do not spend one penny more than they must to get business.
Keep the streets clear of the garbage and don't allow these card flippers to encroach in to the pedestrian right-of-way.
Treat the card flippers the exact same as the "smut racks".
Paint a line at the back of the sidewalk and make them stay in it. Like a "smut rack".
Stop wasting the taxpayer's money in another legal battle with a low chance of positive outcome.
Use "community service" offenders to control the garbage.
BTW - Community Service offenders are supervised by a corrections officer which would aid in keeping the human "smut rack" in line.
We're shooting the messenger here. It's Vegas, baby. Hellooo Sin City.
87% of 'em are illegal; 100% of 'em are more desperate than the air-brushed babes in color with wares exposed.
It's a problem that comes with the territory, eh?
How are you going to bust illegal people selling an illegal service on the sidewalks of Sin City where everybody goes to do illegal stuff?
It's legal, right, to walk around on the sidewalks and not take money, but share information?
Last time I checked, the strip had a curfew.
My personal opinion is that the Las Vegas strip is not a place for children at *any* time of day or night. Hence, I think we should allow them to advertise their businesses. I actually like having the handbillers around and find the cards amusing.
I do agree that litter is an issue, and an unwelcome one at that. The handbillers are not the ones throwing their cards all over the ground though. The pedestrians who take the cards do.
CCB
I'm not even suggesting banning the card flippers, just some sort of reasonable standards or rules that all sides can agree on. Trying to eliminate the "in your face flippers" and the litter as you walk the strip should be the overall goal here.
Perhaps the county could start a large campaign to educate tourists that prostitution in any way shape or form is not legal in Clark County?
I have had that arguement with friends and family frequently. People not from this area hear that prostitution is legal in Nevada, but don't know about the Clark/Washoe County exclusions.
Sisolak returned on Saturday alone? Wonder what for?
Sisolak went back on his own. LOL! Doing his own "private investigation" I guess.
Gentile says it all. FOOLISH!
What a complete waste of county resources and energy. Ridiculous.
I like annoying the "handbillers" when I go down to the strip. Sometimes I will just stand there and take photos of them with my DSLR. They really get paranoid, turn their backs to me, or even move to a new location. About 2 weeks ago I caused about 5 them in front of the Flamingo to leave the area by just standing there and taking photos of them.
Another tactic is to take the "handbill" and start asking them questions like "how much does the escort charge for a date" "will the escort come to my car in a parking garage? Most of these clowns speak no English and get very irritated. Usually one of their "supervisors" (who speaks perfect English) comes over to sort things out.
If the 1st Amendment says they can be there, then use your 1st Amendment rights to take photos of them, ask them questions, bother them, etc. As long as you don't physically touch them, you can stand in front of them, block there way, stare at them, etc. I have done all of this before, and they do not like it one bit!
Personally, I think civil disobediance is the best way to put a stop these "handbillers." If enough locals decide enough is enough, they will get sick of the harassment and leave.
Next time you go to the strip, try some of my tactics. If anything, it's quite amusing to see their reactions.
One more thing. The ACLU can kiss my a--!
The first amendment excuse is (use your own word here). These idiots serve absolutely no good to society. If they want to operate their businesses, those businesses need to require that theit employees clean up the mess they cause. Also, If I refuse a card from the first card flipper, the rest of them in the gauntlet need to realize that I am not going to change my mind in the one second it takes to walk past the next one. While I do not litter, It's obviuus that many do. I think maybe we could all express our first amendment rights by wearing shirts that say "U.S. Border Patrol" on them. Not saying that you are the border patrol, just stop and look at them, maybe scribble a note on a notepad....and watch them scramble. I own Harley shirts and don't own a Harley, I own various State patrol shirts (not uniform shirts), and am not a trooper (nor do I ever say that I am), so maybe a Border Patrol shirt worn to show my support for their department will scare them off without ever saying a word!
Yes, please get rid of the sleeze! This is not a First Ammendment Issue. Would it be ok if McDonalds or Macy's, Tupperware or Avon, or any and all of the casinos were out there getting in the way on an already narrow walkway and shoving their sales material at people? Of course not. It is ridiculous that they have gotten away with it for so long.
Everyone is so overthinking this!
Yes, I do find it annoying walking past the card flipper guys. My guests get embarrassed when the cards are shoved in their face. But you have to get down the street.
SOLUTION: The County can hire ONE landscaper whose job it is to keep the sidewalks clean all day where the flippers are. He can use a leaf blower and just constantly blow the cards back towards the flippers.
Either they will get tired of being deaf or tired of standing in all their smutty cards. And it will definitely keep those sidewalks clean!
RE: "All of this is about perception," she [Giunchigliani] said. "Vegas is jazzy, innovative -- yeah, it's sexy, too. But you don't have to be in people's faces with the sex."
This is EXACTLY the point - the answer to the various complaints posted herein, and, I believe, a primary reason why some corporations will hold conventions in Las Vegs (for the draw), but WILL NEVER MOVE to Las Vegas. So much for attempts for DIVERSIFICATION here.
Of course, even with Las Vegas being a Duty-Free {air] Port (for the passage of international imports and exports), and having other tax benefits for businesses - - being in a "Sin City" may not fit in with the Public or Corporate image they try to present, nor with the family members and their children who would move here.
In additon, the perceived DISADVANTAGE of being in being the middle of a desert -- which Bugsy Siegel found to be an ADVANTAGE for a Casino -- with unchecked growth, falling water resources, traffic problems, etc., doesn't help much either.
If you look at all the commentary about these "handout passers", and WHAT they are passing, it is pretty obvious why the material and behavior is offensive to many people - vistitors and residents.
No one wants nude girlie pictures "shoved" into their faces, or their hands. And they don't want to have to move around these guys blocking the sidewalk. On occasion, I have told them - rather strongly - to get out of my way; they did. Yet it seems these "passers" are more agressive these days, than in the past.
On another point, I remember about 10 years ago, Clark County gave/EXTENDED the property line of Casinos to include the sidewalk - to the CURB. This was supposed to give private (hotel/casino) security guards more control over people blocking the entrance to a casino, or bothering visitors (or anyone) walking on the sidewalk.
I guess either the casinos are NOT enforcing their right to disperse such troublesome people, they forgot about it, or the property-line extension has been rescinded.???
The best way to handle the illegals hand billing, is to just push them out of your way or just knock em out. Who are they gonna call? they're illegal! If enough of them get shoved around they wont be so intrusive about handing out thier smut.
I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO ELIMINATE THE SMUT RACKS FOR OVER YEAR GLAD SOMEONE STARTING TO NOTICE THIS ISNT ABOUT FREEDOM OF PRESS THIS STUFF IS AROUND OUR KIDS SCHOOLS NO CITY DOES OR WOULD ALLOW THAT TIME TO STEP UP AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT LAS VEGAS. I HAVE LIVED HERE 25 YEARS AND I AM ASHMED OF WHAT IS GOING ON OUT HERE WHERE ARE THE REAL LEADERS WE ELECTED PLEASE STAND UP. IF YOU CAN NOT DO IT FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR DO IT FOR YOUR KIDS LETS TURN THIS CITY INTO SOMETHING GREAT. THESE POLITICIANS ARE THE NEW FRAMERS OF NEVADA PLEASE STEP IT UP GO GREEN AND BRING WORK BACK AT A DESCENT WAGE FOR NEVADANS BY NEVADANS what can i do to help smut racks do not need to belong around schools which i have seen by valley high school in green valley henderson and by lamb and sahara by middle school get that CRAP out away from school on keep it on the strip. Chris Giunchigliani comments are moranic so just because everyone else says so lets just believe it thats B/S she wont get my vote
Fedup - Do I have to wear Jack Boots and shave my head to carry out this plan?
I think the boots would be kinda hot in the summer ...... can I wear flip flops? My hair hasn't fallen out or turned gray, I kinda want to keep it as long as I can.
jrichardson - You and other parents are free to take as many of those magazines as you like, as many times as you like. But please do not vandalize the boxes, it would be an eyesore.
What are they going to do? Complain that people are taking their magazines?
Jimmyhoofa has a pretty good plan.
There would be no need for the first amendment if no one said or wrote stuff we all agreed with ... for example: "You should love and respect your parents". But wait, that may really piss some people off if they have been physically or sexually abused by dear ol' mom or dad.
That's why the first amendment is needed. It's only objectionable speech that needs protecting and what some find objectionable, others may find uplifting.
i post my comment they take off B/S that why vegas sucks sad place i lived here 25years only greed hookers drug addicts where the family community outside strip this place and our kids here need help where did the money go during the boom councilmen pockects i have a friend who knows all of them you have to grease all the wheels to get things done out here there all corrupt somehow
if they don't get the attention or the business, pretty soon its not profitable and they move on. Ignore them,putting them in the paper gives them publicity, exactly what they want for business. eventualy, they will move to the places they get business, in the ghettos and slum areas. Every casino has hookers. You probably pass 20 of them just walking through or going to the bathroom. As long as Vegas is Vegas they will be there, just not on the street corners handing out tickets, if we just ignore them." Make it livable for everyone"? Nevada govt is too good to take taxes from them, but want to make their presence and solicitation livable for everyone? Govt people are stupid.
Take the handbill, slap it 3 times in your palm, and hold it closely to the face of the person who handed it to you - but make sure you don't touch them...it may not solve any problems, but it feels good.
What's so hard to understand , get them for littering it's a danger to walk on the strip. You slip on the cards when walking. I am all for free speech, but this is not it! I don't want some one shoving something in my face when just trying to walk down the strip. If I did fall I think I would have the city in court along with every damn on of these people who try to get you to take the cards. They all end up on the sidewalk. Get rid of these people, and make it so you can enjoy your walk down the strip!
Whoever wanted to know why the city does not have this problem,, it is because each person must have a permit to distribute any items on a public street or sidewalk... As for the newsracks ,, you have to have a business license and each rack must be insured... The owners name adress phone number must be displayed and must be in working order and nor damaged by any means...Also there is a code that is a misdeamenor to litter on any street,,sidewalk,,curb within the city....
Wonder why the county cant just take this as an example and go with it...How hard is that..
After this, we need to get rid of the timeshare people.
jimmyhoofa - right on, man!
Why not fix a LOT of our problems at one time by simply letting the Mob run the Strip again?
Ok ok , don't hurt em, but I'm painting my truck immigration green and gettin a decal that looks similar to INC and cruise the strip and watch em run. And people need to start wearing the border patrol hats and walk by them. Lets make them sweat a lil.
Sandy, I'm with you-the timeshare people are almost equally annoying. People go to Vegas to enjoy a vacation and no one wants the hard sell everywhere they turn.
April, The best way to stop time share "We have a few gifts for you" hawkers.....Tell them you're local. (even if you arem't). The card flippers just need to go away.
Not to worry, these guys in their orange t-shirts will be soon working for ACORN and handing out voter registration forms...
As a frequent visitor to Vegas I have to say that the handbill pushers are the worse. However what I don't understand is how they can hand out flyers for something that is illegal in clark county. They are basically handing out flyers for escorts. Well in Clark County prostitution is illegal. I say if they want to hand out the hand bills then they can go where its legal.
I bring my children with me to Vegas as there is way more to do than just the gambeling and the smut for familys. I feel that perhaps Vegas needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Its not the older generation that you need to cater to any more its the younger generation that has kids. Its becoming more and more of a family vacation destination as it has a little for every one.
It seems to me that what these people are doing is promoting an illegal form of employment. Not to mention when they try to hand their flyers to people that are with their children then it becomes to me a crime against children. I mean as a parent if I was to give those things to my child I could be charged with a crime. So why is it that when they hand them out to people that have children with them are they not prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
I understand that Vegas has been labeled as an adult destination but thats where the problems are coming from as Vegas is no longer an adult destination. I know that I am not the only one that feels that way when every time I go to vegas there are many familys there with their kids. I think that people just need to wake up and understand that Vegas is changing as the people that visit Vegas change as well.