Louisville's Fight for Equality
By Brian Yates (02/09/05)
Having recently observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day, civil rights are on the minds of many. However, the struggle of some for equality continues with scant attention being paid to it by the masses. In California, the fight is on for “breast equality.” I kid you not.
Ventura County, California public defender Liana Johnsson is asking the state legislature to make topless sunbathing at California beaches and parks legal. “At some point, men’s breasts became liberated and women’s didn’t…The real issue is there should be equal protection under the law.”
I’m not about to complain if a woman wishes to “liberate” her breasts, but doesn’t California have larger problems then the Jim Crow treatment of women’s breasts?
If Liana Johnsson feels that her breasts are discriminated against in California, what would she think about Louisville? We’re not trying to liberate our ladies’ breasts; we’re busy putting them in a lockbox.
Last year, Louisville’s Metro Council passed a strict adult entertainment ordinance restricting the activities of employees and patrons of the Derby City’s strip clubs. Led by Councilman Hal “Hide Your” Heiner, the council decided that people could not be trusted to make responsible decisions for themselves, and instead, that they should play parents for us.
Heiner told the Courier-Journal that the ordinance was a “great win for the council and the community, especially the neighborhoods that have been directly affected by this industry.” The neighborhoods? Has “Hide Your” Heiner driven down Preston Highway recently? We’re not exactly talking about Sesame Street here.
The ordinance requires a six-foot buffer between strippers and patrons, and the dancers must wear at least pasties and G-strings. They must close by 1 a.m. and cannot sell alcohol. In addition, owners of the establishments must pay for an annual $1,000 bribe, sorry, license from the city.
Some might question the point of a strip club where the women cannot strip. I regret to admit that, for once, I don’t have the answer.
I guess the Fairness Ordinance, while extending equal protection to those who wish to have sex with their fellow man, or presumably, dog or cat, finally draws the line at liberating women’s breasts.
The real issue has nothing to do with whether you like strip clubs or think they serve as a playground for the devil. If a guy wants to walk into Trixie’s or Déjà Vu and pay for some voluptuous vixen to gyrate in his lap, then what business is it of Hal Heiner’s?
I can hear some of you screaming now: come on Yates, strip clubs are sleazy despots of sinfulness, so who cares?
You should care, for one.
The Metro Council is establishing an extremely dangerous precedent with their jihad against adult entertainment. There’s also been talk of banning smoking in public places. As a nonsmoker who does not frequent strip clubs, it’s a fair question, why should I care? Because if Metro Council can regulate strip clubs out of business or ban smoking anywhere outside of your home simply because they don’t like these practices, what’s to stop them from banning other practices they don’t like?
What if Hal “Hide Your” Heiner decides he doesn’t approve of drinking either? I’m sure drunk driving kills more people than strippers do; let’s go ban beer! We’re reading now that red meat might possibly cause cancer. Maybe Heiner will want to regulate Ruth’s Chris out of business as well.
Some people blame conservatism for ordinances such as these, but Heiner and those who support this legislation are not practicing conservatism. Conservatism is about taking personal responsibility for your actions. The people of Metro Louisville are more than capable of deciding for themselves where to slide their dollar bills – whether it’s a stripper’s G-string or the betting windows at Churchill Downs.
If Heiner and his parent-pretending cronies on the council believe that adult entertainment is such a problem, then ban it. Can’t be done? Fine; take a stand for the moral high ground and refuse to accept any tax revenue from any establishment participating in adult entertainment. Take all revenue received from these businesses and donate it to charity. It’s flat hypocritical to condemn them and then, holding your nose, take their money.
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