Legal brothels exist in several Nevada counties, but faced with community pressure Lyon County’s commissioners are leaving it up to the public to decide in a referendum on either shutting down the local businesses or continue to leave them be, KOLO-TV reported.
The question is set to appear on the November ballot, The Washington Post reported.
Commissioner Ken Gray said it was "one of the issues, like taxes, where we need to go to the people."
Lyon County Manager Jeff Page refused to discuss the moral and ethical implications of brothels within the community and said he just wanted voters to decide if they want to close them.
Nevada’s legal brothels took root in the mid-1800s silver-mining boom and their numbers have dwindled over the years, with the blame falling on a flagging economy, decreased patronage by truckers squeezed by fuel costs and the internet.
Efforts to curb sex work in Nevada have been unsuccessful, the Post noted.
At the forefront of the issue now is how to regulate sex trafficking without economic harm for sex workers.
Human rights organization Amnesty International has spent years campaigning for the rights of sex workers, who are among the world’s most vulnerable, Rolling Stone reported, and decriminalizing sex work is seen a crucial step in ensuring their human rights while also addressing discrimination and inequality.
Many community members, however, remain resistant towards keeping brothels legal.
"I hope it's going to be a simple process by which when the people of the county speak there's going to be an overwhelming majority of folks, good folks, who will say 'we really don't want this industry in our community,’" said Pastor Gary Leist of the Calvary Chapel in Dayton Valley, according to KOLO-TV.
Denise Berumen, one of the original five petitioners calling for a referendum, said it was about "caring about what’s going on in our community and just making the community attractive to the people moving in," the Post said.
"It’s hard to make more industry come and more people want to live in our area. You want to make it a positive environment."
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