Legal brothels in Nevada

Earlier in the year, Rebekah Charleston, an ex-prostitute turned morality campaigner, filed a lawsuit against the State of Nevada, its Governor and Legislature, in which she attempted to have the laws which allow Nevada's legal brothels declared unconstitutional.

Thankfully the case has now been dismissed by the Nevada District's Chief Judge Miranda M. Du for lack of standing.

Because the plaintiffs failed to meet the standing requirement, the legal issues involved in the case were not discussed in Judge Du's decision, but the judge did make clear why the plaintiffs, aside from their being residents of Texas, wouldn't have met the standing requirements even if they had lived in Nevada. The concept of standing is something along the lines that one has to be an injured party to complain about an injury.

The owner of the Mustang Ranch brothel near Reno had a few choice words to say about the lawsuit's dismissal:

We are extremely pleased that the United States District Court deemed this lawsuit baseless and without merit and, as such, dismissed it, said Mustang Ranch owner Lance Gilman. However, we are equally frustrated at the persistent and reckless attempts by Mr. Guinasso [the plaintiff's lawyer] to ban Nevada's historic brothel industry through incendiary allegations that are steeped in moral judgment rather than facts and education. This was a complete waste and misuse of taxpayer dollars and, from the very get-go, appears to have been done for political gain rather than the establishment of sound policy.

In Nevada, which reported its first confirmed death from coronavirus infection on Monday, the country's only legal brothels have been ordered to close, along with strip clubs, casinos, restaurants, gyms and other public gathering places.

In addition, sex workers who take private clients have reported widespread cancellations, according to a report by McClatchy News.

But the crisis has not been confined to sex workers in the U.S.. According to an Associated Press report, the world's supposedly oldest profession is suffering a sudden slump. Over the past week, business has gone down by 50 percent, Berlin brothel operator Johannes Marx told the AP. Another Berlin sex worker told the AP that, 90 percent of all dates are being canceled anyway. As always, we're left to fend for ourselves.

Sex workers in Australia report a similar economic crisis due to the pandemic, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. There's no stimulus package available. We don't have sick pay, we don't have annual leave, one sex worker identified only as Anya told the network.