CARSON CITY, Nev. — Dennis Hof, owner of The Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel is threatening a lawsuit against the city of Oakland, California over the removal of a billboard advertising his restaurant and bar.
“The Bunny Ranch Bar," Hof’s latest venture in expanding his brand, was launched with a multi-city advertising campaign to direct traffic to the "family-friendly" establishment which sits a mile away from the actual Bunny Ranch brothel.
Hof maintained that the Oakland City Council members erroneously charged that the billboard was an advertisement for the brothel, and admitted to news cameras that they had brazenly organized citizens to pressure the billboard company to take down the advertisement.
The brothel king said he believes that the city councilpersons’ actions were illegal, and that “content based restriction on speech” is a violation of his civil liberties. Hof said that the “Bunny Ranch” name is also identifiable with his other enterprises, including a storage complex, an office park, a planned wedding chapel and now the aforementioned cigar bar and restaurant.
“This type of corporate diversification is hardly unprecedented” Hof said. “Playboy magazine for example is a publication that features nude women and cannot be purchased in most retail stores. However, I can find their rabbit head logo and ‘Playboy’ name on a wide selection of products that are carried in any given store in any mall across the United States. My brand’s broadening visibility and diverse appeal is no different.”
Hof is planning to bring “Bunny Ranch Bars” to other markets nationwide, and that the battle for his First Amendment rights in Oakland is an important litmus test for entering other cities throughout the country. “I’m going to see justice done in Oakland so that not only can I continue to enjoy the right to advertise my legal businesses there, but I will also know that I will have a precedent of victory against the oppression that I have suffered.”
