Brothels, yes or no? Nev. county asks voters

Some want to shut down industry that’s been legal since 1971

LYON COUNTY, Nev. — Alice Lyttle says she is the most-requested “working lady” at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, one of four brothels in this rural county on the outskirts of Carson City. The petite brunette with glasses brags that she’s “actually the number-one sex worker in the nation in terms of gross earnings,” part of a small cadre of women who legally sell sex as part of a dwindling-but-active Nevada industry.

Although brothels have been a part of this community’s fabric for decades — licensed and legal and legitimate since 1971 — Lyttle found herself standing outside the county’s municipal offices in Yerington on Thursday morning, lobbying against an effort to put her out of business.

Pushed in part by activists who want to end sex trafficking and prostitution, residents that have long looked the other way are now petitioning to change course. Some argue that it’s a moral imperative to stop the exploitation of women, while some say that prostitution is hurting the county’s image. Others counter that legalized prostitution is safer than the alternative and that the business is part of the county’s lifeblood, delivering jobs and tax revenue.

On Thursday, the county’s board of commissioners unanimously decided to put a relatively simple question to voters, one that will appear on ballots in November if it meets final approval in June: Do they want to close the brothels or keep them open?

“This is one of the issues, like taxes, where we need to go to the people,” said Commissioner Ken Gray.

Lyon County Manager Jeff Page said he didn’t want to discuss the morality or the pros and cons of the brothels. He just wants voters to decide: “Do you want to close the brothels, yes or no?”

Sex work has been accepted in Nevada since the middle of the 19th century.