FOR LOVE AND MONEY

Pop quiz: What do locksmiths, massage establishments, escort services, martial arts schools and psychics have in common?

In Las Vegas, they're considered businesses with a high risk of criminal infiltration. And some now say wedding chapels -- that's right, wedding chapels -- should be on that list.

Not everyone thinks so, of course, and the idea is just in the talking stages now.

But the fact that business owners might support more regulations is a measure of just how unsettled the chapel industry has been over the last few years.

There's hope that calm will descend for a time now that the Las Vegas Garden of Love chapel no longer has a license to operate in the city of Las Vegas.

The City Council made that decision after hearing hours of testimony about the Garden of Love and its owners, Craig and Cheryl Luell.

They and their employees reportedly harassed, intimidated and beat up competitors -- one person reported being stabbed -- in an attempt to control the corner outside of the Las Vegas Marriage Bureau, where marrying couples must go to obtain a marriage license.

The last few years have been tense, and people are worried about the reputation of the Vegas wedding industry, an industry with an estimated economic impact of almost $900 million, not counting the visitors' gambling.

Still, not everyone is convinced that the actions of one rogue chapel require new, stricter rules for the entire industry.

"Enforce the laws that you have, and then worry about new legislation or laws," said Michael Lambermont, managing partner of the Wee Kirk O' the Heather chapel.

"I'm not a fan of big government. Let's not be so reactive. Let's be proactive."

Two prongs

The call for tighter rules focuses on two areas right now: new restrictions on handbillers and more onerous licensing requirements for chapels.

There could be movement on the handbilling concerns within weeks, said Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic.

Some of the 60-plus chapels in Las Vegas and Clark County place employees in front of the Las Vegas Marriage Bureau to hand out fliers, answer questions and potentially guide customers to waiting cars.

That's where most of the reported problems with the Garden of Love occurred.

There are other issues. For instance, handbillers are not supposed to actively solicit business.

In the competitive atmosphere downtown, however, that's exactly what's been happening.

"The problem seems to be with the solicitations," Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said. "We have gotten complaints that there's a sort of rowdyism that takes place near the justice center."

Regulating handbills brings in First Amendment free speech concerns, however, meaning that officials can't simply ban people from handing out information at the courthouse.

But banning leaflets within a certain distance of the marriage bureau could be workable.

"There's a pretty strong case that, because of the problems around the courthouse, a distance separation around the courthouse could be set up," Jerbic said.

A specific distance hasn't been proposed yet, he added.

Chapel owner Cliff Evarts, who has two locations immediately north and south of the courthouse, supports the idea.

"Handbilling should be removed a certain distance from the Regional Justice Center," Evarts said, "so that couples can come here and have a good experience without being attacked, which is what's happened in the past."

Not all of his colleagues agree.

Handbilling is an effective part of the business at the Vegas Adventure Wedding Chapel, said co-owner Joan Bojorquez.

In fact, when two of her sons got married here (before she opened a chapel), they found their nuptial spot via handbillers.

"There are so many people who come down here without a chapel," she said. "What's important to them is that they are approached kindly, professionally.

"I think if they just left the handbill issue alone, everything would fall into a nice, peaceful way of doing business."

And, noted Lambermont, it's already illegal to pitch to customers without a solicitor's license.

"If they were to enforce the rules that they have now, we wouldn't have the problems," he said.

More scrutiny?

It's not clear, meanwhile, whether city officials will propose stricter licensing rules for chapels.

Las Vegas code requires a "privileged" business license for industries that "seriously affect the economic, social and moral well-being" of the city.

Those licenses require City Council approval, and the applicant's criminal, financial and business history is investigated.

"We're going to look and see whether it's risen to a level where it needs that level of scrutiny," Jerbic said.

It's easy to see why many of the businesses on the privileged license list are there. Massage and escort businesses could be fronts for prostitution, gambling has been attractive to organized crime, and there's potential for fraud in endeavors such as pawn shops and psychics.

Locksmiths, Jerbic noted, are allowed to possess burglary tools legally.

Martial arts instructors frequently teach kids, and the regulation is aimed at weeding out sex offenders.

In the case of Garden of Love, the image that emerged over the last two weeks was one of butt-kicking brigands intent on dominating the corner of Third and Clark streets the way crack dealers controls their turf.

There is a group of wedding professionals supporting the privileged license idea, including Evarts and Jodi Moss, a wedding consultant and vice president of the Nevada Wedding Association.

Requiring that level of licensing would be "the best of the best," Moss has said.

Some council members also have discussed upping the license requirement, Goodman said, but that's not on the front burner.

"That may be a good idea. That may not be a good idea. We'll explore that," he said.

"People have not called my office and said they've been ripped off by any of the wedding chapels."

Exactly, said Vegas Adventure's Bojorquez, who's "totally opposed" to the privileged license idea.

"A privilege for what? To hold us in high regard as we continue to do business above board? We have enough licenses all over our walls."

She said city leaders need to "take a deep breath and see how everyone else conducts business."

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or (702) 229-6435.