Indoor prostitution ban proposal

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island's governor has urged state lawmakers to close a legal loophole permitting indoor prostitution.

Gov. Don Carcieri blames the law for allowing brothels masked as massage parlors to expand throughout the state.Rhode Island is the only state in the country that allows indoor prostitution, the result of a legislative mistake made nearly 30 years ago.

House lawmakers passed a bill this year to ban all prostitution, but the Senate hasn't approved it yet. Critics of the bill say state leaders should focus on arresting human traffickers, not individual prostitutes.