Strip Club Owners Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

I’ve tried, Lord knows I’ve tried to be good. I’ve held my tongue, I’ve left the stripper bill alone for so long. OK, a couple of comments on other blog posts, but that’s it I swear.

But after reading that the naked breast industry is organizing a petition drive, that’s all I can stanz, I can’t stanz no more. I’m going to be a bad progressive and move against the current again.

Let’s review. The original proposal would have imposed a six-foot buffer around dancers nude or clothed and declared that violating the buffer is a felony. According to the naked breasters, it would have made it pretty much impossible to operate most clubs.

After the bill sailed through the Senate, cooler heads prevailed in the House. Now the rule is that knowingly touching a stripper or a stripper knowingly touching a customer is a misdemeanor. In addition, the original bill would have closed down the stripper bars at midnight. Now strippers have to be less stripped after the witching hour.

By most measures, this would be a win. The legislation would have shut the industry down, but now it puts a crimp in. Furthermore, sexaphobic CCV leader Phil Burress had all but promised that his organization wasn’t pursuing a referendum for the stricter law in November. Win, hell. This was a legislative smackdown.

But no. Now we may have to endure a campaign this November in which progressives defend the right to touch a stripper.

ProgressOhio reports that strip clubs have seen a drop off in business because of misinformation about the bill. It’s a decent point. Given that a ProgressOhio blogger wrote up that misinformation – that patrons could be prosecuted for accidentally bumping into a dancer – on an as-yet uncorrected post, the argument loses a bit of heft. In any event, the fact that the naked breast industry needs to educate its clientele doesn’t inspire me to take up arms.

The most compelling argument for fighting actively against Senate Bill 16 was to deny victory to Phil Burress and his merry band of nutballs. But now the naked breasters have turned his loss into that victory. And if they succeed in placing on the ballot an issue vindicating the right to touch a stripper (suggested title: “Peel and Feel”), Burress will almost certainly have another victory.

As for that PO post, we’ve learned to be careful about what PO posts. Just because they post it – even when the webmaster posts it – doesn’t mean they endorse it. If you suggest otherwise, you are just begging for mean people in brown shirts to show and ruin the party.

Nonetheless, I have to wonder why PO is so, um, interested in this now that the issue isn’t free speech so much as free incidental contact. Oh, that’s right. “First they came for the guy who copped a feel . . .”