The regulation of prostitution in the United States is not among the enumerated powers of the federal government; Under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, it is therefore exclusively the domain of the states to permit, prohibit, or otherwise regulate commercial sex, except insofar as Congress may regulate it as part of interstate commerce with laws like the Mann Act. In most states, prostitution is considered a misdemeanor in the category of public order crime, a crime that disrupts the order of a community. It was at one time considered to be a vagrancy crime.
Currently, Nevada is the only state to allow brothel prostitution, the terms of which are stipulated in the Nevada Revised Statutes. Only 8 counties currently contain active brothels. All forms of prostitution are illegal in Clark County (which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area), Washoe County (which contains Reno), Carson City, Douglas County, and Lincoln County. The other counties theoretically allow brothel prostitution, but some of these counties currently have no active brothels. Street prostitution, "pandering," and living off of the proceeds of a prostitute remain illegal under Nevada law, as elsewhere in the country.
As with other countries, prostitution in the United States can be divided into three broad categories: street prostitution, brothel prostitution, and escort prostitution.
Read more about Prostitution In The United States: Legal Status, Statistics On Prostitutes and Customers, John Schools, References
Famous quotes containing the words united states, united and/or states:
“Greece is a sort of American vassal; the Netherlands is the country of American bases that grow like tulip bulbs; Cuba is the main sugar plantation of the American monopolies; Turkey is prepared to kow-tow before any United States pro-consul and Canada is the boring second fiddle in the American symphony.”
—Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (1909–1989)
“It is a united will, not mere walls, which makes a fort.”
—Chinese proverb.
“[Urging the national government] to eradicate local prejudices and mistaken rivalships to consolidate the affairs of the states into one harmonious interest.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)