Contemporary Sexuality - September 2008 - (Page 11)

Nevada brothels entice customers with … free gas The high price of gasoline seems to be affecting every corner of the American economy. Even brothels. Sixteen of Nevada’s 28 legal brothels are located along rural highways. Their best customers are truckers, who are paying nearly $5 per gallon for diesel fuel. Compared to one year ago, business at the brothels is off 25 percent. To woo customers, Shady Lane Ranch, located north of Las Vegas, is offering clients $50 and $100 fuel cards when they purchase services worth $300 and $500. “The brothel industry is having to get more creative just like all consumer products in America,” said Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlight Bunny Ranch, located near Carson City. (Associated Press, June 30) ago” and saying it “ought to be given serious consideration by both Congress and the Joint Chiefs.” On July 23, a U.S. House Armed Services subommittee held hearings on the issue, a Congressional first. More than 110 Democrats and five Republicans are co-sponsoring the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would allow gays and lesbians to openly serve their country. Barack Obama supports the measure; John McCain opposes it. (Michael D. Palm Center, July 7 and San Francisco Chronicle, July 23) More info: http://www.palmcenter.org/press/ dadt/releases/new_report_by_senior_military_ leaders_urges_end_to_gay_ban “If ‘sexual orientation’ is enacted into North Carolina law … it will serve as the basis for affirming deviant sexual behaviors through our state statutes.” — Bill Brooks Should gay students be protected in anti-bullying Report: Gays in military don’t measures? Conservatives say a North Carolina anti-bullying hurt morale or discipline A new study by retired U.S. military officers has concluded that the ban on openly gay service members is counterproductive and should end. The nonpartisan study group has a combined century and a half of military service from all four branches of the military, and it marks the first time a Marine Corps general has ever called publicly for an end to the gay ban. “I believe this should have been done much earlier,” said Hugh Aitken, a U.S. Marine Corps brigadier general, one of the authors of the report. The Palm Center, a research institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, commissioned the report. The officers reached their findings independently and required a written pledge that the Center would publish their recommendations regardless of the political implications, and would not seek to influence conclusions. Key findings are that the policy prevents some gay troops from performing their duties, that gays already serve openly, that tolerance of homosexuality in the military has grown dramatically, and that lifting the ban is “unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline, or cohesion.” General John Shalikashvili, the former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who previously favored the gay ban but reversed course last year in an op-ed in the New York Times, endorsed the officers’ new study, calling it “one of the most comprehensive evaluations of the issue of gays in the military since the Rand study fifteen years measure shouldn’t include protections for gay and lesbian students. The state legislature has been considering a proposal aimed at protecting elementary and secondary students from harassment in classrooms, playgrounds and other school areas. Proponents of the bill believe specificity is needed to protect children from bullying based on “race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, socio-economic status, academic status, masculinity, femininity, physical appearance, sexual orientation” and a few other traits. Conservatives support the bill, but oppose the list. “If ‘sexual orientation’ is enacted into North Carolina law … it will serve as the basis for affirming deviant sexual behaviors through our state statutes,” said Bill Brooks, executive director of the North Carolina Family Policy Council. A 2002 report by the Secret Service found that most school shooters were harassed before turning violent. (Raleigh News & Observer, July 16) September 2008 Vol. 42, No. 9 | www.aasect.org Contemporary Sexuality 11 http://www.palmcenter.org/press/dadt/releases/new_report_by_senior_military_leaders_urges_end_to_gay_ban http://www.palmcenter.org/press/dadt/releases/new_report_by_senior_military_leaders_urges_end_to_gay_ban http://www.palmcenter.org/press/dadt/releases/new_report_by_senior_military_leaders_urges_end_to_gay_ban http://www.aasect.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Contemporary Sexuality - September 2008

Contemporary Sexuality - September 2008 Contents The Myth of Teen Promiscuity Member Spotlight Book Reviews News of Members Quick Hits: Sex in the News Reflections on AASECT's Annual Meeting

Contemporary Sexuality - September 2008

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