May 2nd, 2007 | 
Author: Citizens for Community Values (CCV), the group that successfully pushed the gay marriage ban in Ohio, petitioned for Ohio Senate Bill 16, banning nudity between the hours of midnight and 6am, and keeping strippers at least six feet away from patrons at all times. This group is affiliated with James Dobson’s Focus on The Family, a Christian organization and radio program, and a major player in the Christian Right.
Why would an organization, committed to Christian morality, petition for anything less than an outright ban of strip clubs and other adult establishments? Because that wouldn’t stand a chance. It would be a precedent-setting case leading to a more difficult fight in the future.
With Bill 16, they can peck away at it. It won’t reach the national news. The constraints it presents seem so mild; and its lofty goals, to reduce crime associated with these shady establishments, seem so noble; only a foolish congressman would put himself out there in opposition (that pervert!).
With the mandated reduction of operating hours and less-than-desirable entertainment limitations (a friend from out of town loves Ohio strip clubs for what he calls “boobs-on-face”), club owners will soon have no choice but to close shop. They may even resort to alternative business strategies, prostitution and drug dealing (the very crimes CCV claimed to be fighting) to cover their losses.
The bill has already passed through the Ohio State Senate and is now going in front of the House. Bye-bye, lap dances. Bye-bye, boobs-on-face. Bye-bye, boobs. And so much for the Republican ideal, operating your business without government interference.
Ah, I love the smell of hypocritical irony in the morning…
If you live in Ohio, contact your representative to support business rights.
Tags:
I suspect the real reason for you opposition has less to do with “business rights” than it does personal enjoyment. Otherwise you would also oppose overregulation and overtaxation that have plagued all businesses for years.
No, it has more to do with the ulterior motives behind the bills inception. I’ve actually been softening my position on business regulation lately (ever since Penn and Teller told me to). Besides, strip clubs aren’t really my thing. Hardcore pornography featuring midgets on the other hand…
typical Christian right trying to tell me what I can and cant do with my life again. I guess us Atheists should thank them because we are so morally bankrupt that we cant tell light from a penis in our asses
Good thing my wang is 8 feet long.
This whole mess has been going since the summer of 2002. I remember this, for I wrote a “letter to the editor” that got published in Cleveland’s Scene Magazine at thet time. Forgive me for regurgitating what I wrote, but these christian movements know that if the local and state governments make the laws ridiculous enough, the strip joints will cause their own financial suicide. No man goes to a strip joint just to watch women dance from a distance. They go and pay good money for a well satiated lapdance.
This new legislation will give rise to independent private dancers. Men will be blowing more money to get lapdances in the comforts of their own home or their friend’s home. As long as it is in the privacy of their own house or apartment, it is completely consentual, and therefore perfectly legal. There is always a loophole.
Either that, or fly to Las Vegas to get your rocks off. By the way, the governor will sign this bill into law on September 4th. Get as many lapdances as you can, folks. Good luck!
Bryan, the law that will be signed has been heavily modified from the original. It’s my understanding that the teeth have been largely taken out of it.
Well screw all you religious nutballs, I want to be able to see/touch naked chicks at any time I want. This isn’t a communist country but I guess we will have to go to Canada from some real TnA.!
In a communist country, your strip club consumption would be planned ahead of time and you would be issued strip club ration vouchers.
In a communist country, girls are assigned a stripper job based on aptitude tests. They can never leave this profession – not even when they get saggy.
Did this pass? I’m sorry to tell you that I was in support of letting the local ban go to a vote, community standards make sense. The statewide ban was a little much, but I’m all for the “no touching” rule, if only for public health reasons, not to mention about a hundred other reasons.
No that’s ok – as long as you support banning basketball too since an equal amount of physical contact occurs there. Unless you think strippers are filthy whores that ooze Super-AIDS from every pore…
I think people are generally super-whores who ooze super-AIDS from every pore. Strippers just come in contact with more people. I’ve just had a few girlfriends tell me that they used to dance, and while it doesn’t make me think less of them, it sometimes explains why I thought less of them beforehand. Strip clubs don’t facilitate constructive behavior between people. And transactional sex is gross.
I’m starting a new movement, Sinner to rid Ohio of Churches. If the Christian morality is that important than keep your minsters out of these clubs. “Christian Morality” is like saying “Trust a Crack Head”. The real reason for the prostitution and drug dealing is on the street corner not in those clubs. Work on the real reason for these activities, and it not strip clubs. It just Christian Morality pushing it’s view on others like Hitler…
You want to stop Christians from forcing their views by forcing your view that Ohio should get rid of Churches? I think what you call “forcing a view” is what government is: law by threat of force, and I don’t suppose you are advocating anarchy…
However, I can see your point that strip clubs are not the cause of drug dealing and prostitution (my guess is that they are highly correlated), but I doubt that Churches are the cause of drug dealing and prostitution either.
It just seems like you are lashing out is all…
“…so much for the Republican ideal”
Is it still a Republican majority house/senate in Ohio? I think so. But in any case, it’s a Democratic govenor who allowed this bill to become law (http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/05/23/leg23.ART_ART_05-23-07_A1_UM6Q1EB.html), and many Democrats in the legislator voted for it. So, don’t think this is simply a matter of “those Republicans, pushing their Churchiness on us again!”
This is a matter of whether the government is overregulating business (again), and given Ohio’s recent track record on smoking and other issues, I’m inclined to think so.
Matt, some fascism is acceptable if it enforces our ideologies.
I want to touch boobies at 3 in the morning while my wife is sleeping damn it
Minywheats the solution seems clear to me.
I think that the christian women are upset because their (christian) husbands are in the strip club while they sit at home and wish they had a stripper body so they could keep their husbands away from the strip club, and the pink ruffled panty wearing (christian) men are upset because they would rather see men anyway. Its so funny that the christians have managed to force their believe upon the entire country they seemed to have used the whole “you will go to HELL and burn forever” thing to scare of everyone.
damn those pink panty wearing sissies.
Wow, kay, I think that’s a little too much insight into your personal life.
now groves don’t get mean, your supposed to be the one with high moral fiber in the wasteland that is Mgroves.com
sorry, my (christian) panties were really riding up on me when I wrote that.
im not a stripper
and I don’t wear pink panties…but I am a Christian, and I’m not particularly comfortable with this law or any additional business regulation. I’m also not particularly comfortable with your portrayal of the law’s proponents.
Notice he says “I don’t wear pink panties” – leaving room for the other colors he does wear.
I knew you were gonna say that!
it was a joke, of course u may not wear pink panties. For the record i have nothing aganist christians or any other religion for that matter. What I do have a problem with is the way that christians try to push their faith on the world. I mean come on when did this all become america? I have an idea lets git rid of everything that personally offends us that would make america so much better dont u agree? Who needs freedom lets just let the government take control over everything. I guess the free country thing is getting old huh?
just kidding again dont get your panties in a bunch lol
“Before you can begin to think about politics at all, you have to abandon the notion that there is a war between good men and bad men.” We all believe in the ideals of freedom, and just because some Christians want to restrict strip clubs doesn’t mean they are terrible, duplicitious prudes, but that they are doing what they think is best for their community. Vice-versa for their opponents. Characterizing either party as fascists (or perverts) is unfair, I think.
The Christians that proposed the ban don’t live in a community anywhere near a strip club, much less a liquor store, much less a braid store. The want to remove temptation, lust, deviance, and evil from the world. And since these are pretty subjective terms, I have a problem with them defining the terms for me.
Although this may be true these christians may have the communities best interest at heart, but when do we draw the line with government regulation. As long as there is good there will be evil but what christians have to keep in mind is that their religion cannot define the world simply because all people don’t believe in christianaity, and so to define are laws based on this is also unfair.