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Cavaliers dancers get legislators' attention
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Aaron Marshall
Plain Dealer Bureau
Columbus- The plain manila folders from Rep. Armond Budish were delivered one apiece to his fellow members on the Ohio House Judiciary Committee, as well as to the witness testifying before them.
David Miller, a member of the Citizens for Community Values (CCV), the group pushing for strict new regulations on Ohio's strip clubs, joined lawmakers peering inside as Budish, a Beachwood Democrat, explained the contents.
Inside: The definition of semi-nude used in the strip-club bill, which includes the phrase "the showing of female buttocks," a dictionary definition of buttocks, and a handful of pictures of the Cleveland Cavaliers dance team performing with their rear ends partially hanging out of their skimpy outfits. It was time for Budish's question: "How would this law not apply to the Cleveland Cavs dance team?"
After calling it a "bit of a stretch" to think the Cavs dancers would fall under the law, Miller conceded that his organization would entertain a change to the bill "so it does not cover the Cleveland Cavs dance team," as the standing-room-only crowd laughed.
Budish's cheeky stunt was just one more twist Wednesday in what has turned into the most entertaining legislative hearings in Columbus in a long time. Prompting the free-wheeling exchanges and pointed questions is a bill brought to lawmakers by the CCV, a Cincinnati-area group of social conservatives, that would establish a six-foot buffer zone between strippers and patrons. The legislation would also force strip clubs to stop dancers from performing after midnight.
Supporters say the legislation is needed to protect communities from the harmful negative "secondary effects" of adult businesses, while strip club owners say it is nothing more than an attempt to shut down their businesses.
With both committee Republicans and Democrats growing skeptical that the regulations can pass constitutional muster, most of Wednesday's testimony focused on whether the regulations had been passed by other states and upheld in court. Under questioning from Democrats, Miller started off saying the proposed rules were "supported by case law," but eventually backpedaled to say that a "buffer zone means no-touch," and that no-touch rules had been upheld by courts.
However, Raymond Vasvari, an attorney representing strip club owners, said the CCV had "cherry-picked" regulations passed in different locations and rolled them into one bill.
"You would be plowing new and blatantly unconstitutional law," he said.
According to committee testimony, several states have passed regulations that mandate early closing times for strip clubs. However, no state appears to have anything as restrictive as the six-foot buffer zone, which would apply to dancers at all times.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Aaron Marshall
Plain Dealer Bureau
Columbus- The plain manila folders from Rep. Armond Budish were delivered one apiece to his fellow members on the Ohio House Judiciary Committee, as well as to the witness testifying before them.
David Miller, a member of the Citizens for Community Values (CCV), the group pushing for strict new regulations on Ohio's strip clubs, joined lawmakers peering inside as Budish, a Beachwood Democrat, explained the contents.
Inside: The definition of semi-nude used in the strip-club bill, which includes the phrase "the showing of female buttocks," a dictionary definition of buttocks, and a handful of pictures of the Cleveland Cavaliers dance team performing with their rear ends partially hanging out of their skimpy outfits. It was time for Budish's question: "How would this law not apply to the Cleveland Cavs dance team?"
After calling it a "bit of a stretch" to think the Cavs dancers would fall under the law, Miller conceded that his organization would entertain a change to the bill "so it does not cover the Cleveland Cavs dance team," as the standing-room-only crowd laughed.
Budish's cheeky stunt was just one more twist Wednesday in what has turned into the most entertaining legislative hearings in Columbus in a long time. Prompting the free-wheeling exchanges and pointed questions is a bill brought to lawmakers by the CCV, a Cincinnati-area group of social conservatives, that would establish a six-foot buffer zone between strippers and patrons. The legislation would also force strip clubs to stop dancers from performing after midnight.
Supporters say the legislation is needed to protect communities from the harmful negative "secondary effects" of adult businesses, while strip club owners say it is nothing more than an attempt to shut down their businesses.
With both committee Republicans and Democrats growing skeptical that the regulations can pass constitutional muster, most of Wednesday's testimony focused on whether the regulations had been passed by other states and upheld in court. Under questioning from Democrats, Miller started off saying the proposed rules were "supported by case law," but eventually backpedaled to say that a "buffer zone means no-touch," and that no-touch rules had been upheld by courts.
However, Raymond Vasvari, an attorney representing strip club owners, said the CCV had "cherry-picked" regulations passed in different locations and rolled them into one bill.
"You would be plowing new and blatantly unconstitutional law," he said.
According to committee testimony, several states have passed regulations that mandate early closing times for strip clubs. However, no state appears to have anything as restrictive as the six-foot buffer zone, which would apply to dancers at all times.
