In 1971, the Mustang Ranch became the first legal brothel in Nevada. Over the next few years similar brothels, such as the Bunny Ranch, joined the ranks of legal prostitution rings. While the Nevada prostitution industry is currently facing threats such as heavy state and national taxes, and the closing of the Mustang ranch due to tax evasion, it is still thriving in its own way.

In the age of prohibition, gangsters and speakeasies became mainstay. Today is instead the age of the illegal brothel, and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, the proliferation of child prostitutes and the pimp-reliant whores create an unhealthy situation in our society. This is all because prostitution is illegal, and therefore unregulated.

In Nevada brothels, condoms are required, and this helps contain the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Also helping contain the spread of disease is the fact that frequent medical checkups are done on the prostitutes, which allows any with sexually transmitted diseases to be cured or taken out of the system. This would contrast greatly with the situation now, where, according to the US Department of Health, 3%-5% of the STDs in America are related to prostitution.

When prostitution is unregulated, it is impossible to control STDs. When it is illegal and unregulated, it is impossible to make sure that prostitutes wear protection, find out about their STDs, and stay healthy after they get sick. Prostitutes are afraid to get the medical care that they need.

Legal brothels can help contain child prostitution, as with the legal prostitution, the demand for child runaways as prostitutes will reduce. The legal brothels will be regulated to prevent child prostitutes there, and with hygienic, legal brothels, the demand for illegal pimp-run prostitute rings will drop greatly.

One of the commonly used arguments against prostitution, as well as pornography, is that it objectifies women. I haven’t heard any evidence that these industries objectify women any more than the male mind does naturally.

Critics also say that this kind of occupation spreads immorality. Yet these industries have been around for many years. If it spreads immorality, it has been spreading immorality since the beginning of man. Illegal prostitution is just as, if not more immoral as legal prostitution.

Prostitution has had a great effect on the communities that choose to make it legal as well. For instance, in Nye county, Nevada, the brothels pay for a $120,000 per year ambulance service.

These moral reasons behind keeping prostitution illegal harm the prostitutes and their clients. If it’s legal, it can be regulated and monitored. However, when it’s illegal, there is no way for the authorities to regulate the brothels, helping to stop them from spreading STDs. We should be far more concerned with the prostitutes and the clients than the morality of our country.

And anyway, the Nevada experiment is clearly working. As Nevada State historian Guy Rocha said, "There are some people who argue that Nevada will soon be the Amsterdam of North America."