This is a good place to drop general and weird news, entertainment, and general show prep material that might be interesting to air talent or producers. Hot dog threads ALWAYS welcome.
Strip-club compromise would restrict touching, full nudity
By STEPHEN MAJORS
Associated Press Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) --
Rules forbidding touching of strippers and requiring them to keep on some clothes when dancing past midnight are part of a proposed compromise bill reached Tuesday in a crackdown on strip clubs that has pitted club owners against an influential conservative values group.
Club owners warned the legislation would result in a drawn-out legal battle and hurt businesses that bring economic benefits to their communities.
Establishments with a liquor license could stay open past midnight, if the license allows, as long as performers don't appear nude. The bill does not have a restriction for seminude entertainment, which the law describes as dancers with clothing that covers the genitals and female nipple.
If the proposal passes into law, Ohio would join a handful of other states that have statewide restrictions on touching dancers or on hours of operation for strip clubs. Many local governments have such restrictions.
The bill passed a House committee Tuesday and goes before the full House Wednesday. It represents a compromise on legislation that was brought to lawmakers through petitions circulated by Citizens for Community Values, a Cincinnati-based Christian group credited with turning out conservative Ohio voters for President Bush in 2004 by placing on the same ballot a ban on gay marriage. The state clinched the election for Bush, and voters approved the same-sex marriage ban.
The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee voted 8-7 along party lines Tuesday to pass the compromise, first reported by The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. Democrats on the committee said the compromise bill was still vague and unconstitutional. The full House is scheduled to vote on the legislation Wednesday.
The ban on touching dancers still will accomplish the goal of people who signed the petitions, said David Miller, vice president of public policy for Citizens for Community Values.
"If it becomes law we'll have a significant impact on the crime in this state that takes place in many of these establishments," he said.
The group agreed to the compromise, saying its specific language may alleviate the concerns of Gov. Ted Strickland, who has questioned whether the original proposal is constitutional A proposal passed by the Senate that mirrors what was signed in the citizen petitions would mandate that dancers and patrons stay six feet away from each other. Such distance requirements have been challenged in other states.
Strickland had not yet reviewed the compromise bill and would evaluate its constitutionality if its passes the legislature, said spokesman Keith Dailey.
In a poll of 939 Ohio voters released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University, 45 percent of those surveyed said they had visited a strip club, including 68 percent of men and 28 percent of women. Meanwhile, men surveyed generally opposed the stricter 6-foot rule and restrictions on club operations between midnight and 6 a.m., while a majority of women supported the proposal. Overall, voters were split 45 percent in favor to 46 percent opposed to the plan.
The Buckeye Association of Club Executives, representing adult club owners, said the businesses intend to challenge the restrictions in court if they become law.
The compromise legislation classifies touching any nude or seminude employee of a strip club in specific areas or on clothing covering those areas as a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Someone who touches the employee anywhere else could be charged with a misdemeanor carrying a possible 30-day sentence. The same charges could apply to a dancer who touches a patron.
Angelina Spencer, executive director of the club executives association, said the legislation undoubtedly would hurt the businesses.
"You are creating an environment of fear where an entertainer and a patron will worry more about being slapped with a misdemeanor that's punishable by jail and a fine than they will focusing on having fun," she said.
A spokeswoman for Senate President Bill Harris declined to comment on the House proposal before it is considered by that chamber.
If the House approves its bill, it would have to be reconciled with the more stringent Senate proposal that includes the 6-foot rule and also would forbid strip clubs from offering sexually oriented entertainment past midnight. Club owners have said the Senate proposal would give Ohio the strictest requirements in the nation.
Lester wrote:Depends on the club, and where you are in the club. I've seen some wild shit go down in the "private dance" rooms.
Megadittos, dude!!!! Uh ... not that I'd know that personally or anything.
That said... I've never been to a strip club in Ohio.
Overall, they suck. Especially if you've been spoiled by West Virginia's "anything goes" attitude. There was a club in west Columbus (Trabue Road?) that was pretty decent. The Candy Store on Georgesville Road was a dump but had all the hot, trashy Appalachian girls stripping.
I dunno. This law will probably put a fork in all of 'em.
What's the closest one worth visiting in the southern part of the state?
West Virginia.
And lastly... does Ohio have nothing else to worry about? Is this the best thing they can waste their time on?
This is being railroaded through by some bloddy-knuckled, right wing Christian lobbying group (the Cincinnati based 'Citizens for Community Values' group, one of Dr. James Dobson's puppet organizations) that has essentially threatened lawmakers with the "anti family values, pro-porn, pro-pedophile, pro-violence against women, pro-rape" label if they fight it.
Many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle think it's a zoning and local ordinance type decision best made at the city or township level, but they're all afraid to take this group on for political reasons.
Hoosier Daddy wrote:...(the Cincinnati based 'Citizens for Community Values' group, one of Dr. James Dobson's puppet organizations)...
Could you please demonstrate that Dobson played some significant role in its founding and/or has some control over it today? To call it a "puppet organization," you must demonstrate that Dobson animates it.
If you can't show control, please retract and apologize.
"I don't know the same things you don't know."
"Yes, you do; you just won't admit it!"
"Yeeee...it looks like a 'Belt Buckle & Ball Cap' convention in here......"
Hoosier Daddy wrote:
Overall, they suck. Especially if you've been spoiled by West Virginia's "anything goes" attitude. There was a club in west Columbus (Trabue Road?) that was pretty decent. The Candy Store on Georgesville Road was a dump but had all the hot, trashy Appalachian girls stripping.
Last time I was in Columbus the Docside Dolls was a pretty decent joint. I went to another one but I forget the name of it...
Yes, they show and acknowledge association, but HD, in his use of "puppet," indicated control. If he's going to say that, he'll want to demonstrate it, first.
Just be accurate and honest.....
"I don't know the same things you don't know."
"Yes, you do; you just won't admit it!"
"Yeeee...it looks like a 'Belt Buckle & Ball Cap' convention in here......"
Platinum Horse in Akron. Class joint, you'll find the PGA golfers in there when they're playing at Firestone.
I've only touched a few of them there, but only because I was working...no really...
When I saw Dr. James Dobson mentioned...then going back to the previous thread where Falwell had died, I thought..just for a minute we were going to get lucky and go two for two but I guess not.
Titties and beer...thank God almighty for titties and beer!
This is like the the goofy WV law of no selling of alcohol until noon on Sundays... This way, maybe the alcies will bring their smelly, hung-over, puke-stained asses to church instead of hanging out in front of 7-11 all morning bumming money for their next bottle of Boone's Farm.
Or, maybe not.
Okay, so the strippers will have to keep their thongs and Kisses on after midnight, because that will somehow curb "immorality" in strip clubs, so there will be less "immorality" after midnight, even though strip clubs are "immoral" to begin with...
Strippers protest exotic club restrictions from House balcony
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
AP Statehouse Correspondent
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) --
A group of strippers fighting a bill they say would set the stage for unconstitutional crackdowns on their industry across the country held up a banner from the Ohio House balcony Wednesday before lawmakers approved a plan to ban patrons from touching dancers.
In a free speech protest, the group of about 50 strippers dubbed Dancers for Democracy draped over the railing a sign that said, "Talk is cheap. Speech is priceless."
Lawmakers clapped for the dancers when they were recognized as guests in the chamber.
They then voted 73-24 in favor of the bill backed by a conservative Christian group Citizens for Community Values, which also spearheaded Ohio's 2004 gay marriage ban.
The dancers' banner was later confiscated by security officials because political opinion displays are not allowed in the chamber.
Besides the no-touching rule, full nudity would be barred at clubs after midnight, under the legislation approved by the GOP-controlled House.
The rules were a compromise with Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values, which has sought stricter regulations, including a ban on all exotic dancing past midnight and a 6-foot distance between strippers and customers.
Owners of adult clubs did not take issue Wednesday with restrictions on touching dancers in certain anatomical areas, but they said they continued to oppose the bill's penalties for casual touching of clothed dancers and for the economic damage they believe restrictions would cause for their industry.
Democratic Rep. Chris Redfern, of Catawba Island, suggested that Republicans were moving the proposal to avoid campaign attacks they might face from Citizens for Community Values.
House Speaker Jon Husted, a Kettering Republican, rejected the notion.
"You might find this hard to believe," he told reporters. "I have not one time in my life ever spoken to (CCV President) Phil Burress."
Rep. Robert Hagan, a Youngstown Democrat, called the bill absolutely absurd because it involved an issue few Ohioans view as important.
"How many of us would admit that we were in a strip joint?" he asked. "How many of us would be honest?"
Husted conceded to reporters after the vote that he "might have" been to a strip club in his youth, but said he would be happy if his son didn't have the opportunity.
Hagan brought a rare moment of levity to the debate with his suggestion that lawmakers' palms should be declared erogenous zones because of how excited campaign contributions make them, a comment greeted with laughter.
Citizens for Community Values brought the adult business crackdown to lawmakers through petitions. The politically influential group has launched other national morals battles from its Ohio home base, and club owners say it is trying again with its adult business legislation.
Cincinnati Republican Rep. Bill Seitz, who opposed the original stricter regulations, said the House made thoughtful improvements.
"I would suggest to you legislators that if you want to stem the tide of these poorly written citizen initiatives, then do the responsible thing here," he said.
Though the strip-club bill approved Wednesday is watered down from the original, Citizens for Community Values Vice President David Miller has said he views the final version as a victory for the group.
"It's definitely a step in the right direction," he said. "I don't think every bill ends up the way it began, so we think that these changes that they've made can still reach the intended goal of reducing crime."
Miller said it is too soon to promise that the group won't pursue a ballot initiative, an available option if the group is not satisfied with lawmakers' final changes.
The dancers in the balcony, wearing pink T-shirts with "Dancers for Democracy" in black letters, are backed by the national Association of Club Executives.
Association Executive Director Angelina Spencer on Wednesday backed off threats to sue the state over the bill, but said club owners and the dancers' group would continue protesting its criminal penalties and potential economic effects as it heads back to the Senate for consideration. The Senate is also controlled by the GOP.
Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, has said he has constitutional concerns about the original proposal, but his office said he has not made a decision about whether to sign the new proposal.
In a free speech protest, the group of about 50 strippers dubbed Dancers for Democracy draped over the railing a sign that said, "Talk is cheap. Speech is priceless."
Hmmmm.....just what are the strippers speaking about as they drop their clothes?
"I don't know the same things you don't know."
"Yes, you do; you just won't admit it!"
"Yeeee...it looks like a 'Belt Buckle & Ball Cap' convention in here......"
The dancers' banner was later confiscated by security officials because political opinion displays are not allowed in the chamber.
Isn't that odd? So let me get this straight. Strippers can't hang a banner up because "political opinion displays are not allowed in the chamber". Yet if some dork,who was elected, has a posterboard up to give visual aid to his/her statement, or discussing a bill, thats ok? Because the statement is a "political opinion". And the posterboard is "displaying" "political opinions".
In fact isn't every word uttered in any House or Senate chambers consider "political opinion" that is on "display"?
No, I'm not trying to make it political. I just find that interesting.
In a free speech protest, the group of about 50 strippers dubbed Dancers for Democracy draped over the railing a sign that said, "Talk is cheap. Speech is priceless."
Hmmmm.....just what are the strippers speaking about as they drop their clothes?
I think they're fighting for their rights to say "hey baby, do you want me to give you a hummer in the back room? $50 bareback."
So sayeth His Royal Highness King Spike; greatest broadcasting talent of his generation.
