Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had a suggestion for Nevada's legislature in his biennial speech. He says, “The time has come for us to outlaw prostitution.”

He paused, obviously expecting the crowd to go wild, like he was Jose Canseco rounding home for the 462nd time, and was met with dead silence. He pressed on, however, telling a story of a meeting with businessmen considering opening a facility south of Reno, and good people not interested in raising their families, or their companies, around brothels.

“But [a businessman] told me he simply couldn’t believe that one of the biggest businesses in the county he was considering for his new home is legal prostitution,” Reid said. “I’ve talked to families who feel the same way—parents who don’t want their children to look out of a school bus and see a brothel, or to live in a state with the wrong kind of red lights.”

A rancher was overhead joking, “You know, they say shepherding is the second-oldest profession. Is he going to try to do away with us too?”

Sounds a bit too much like Best Little Whorehouse in Texas for our taste. Nevada lawmakers say they were caught completely off guard. And none of them are seriously considering his suggestion.