Detroit — from www.detnews.com – The issue of whether morality can be legislated took center stage when more than 100 people attended Tuesday’s Detroit City Council hearing on the possible crackdown on strip clubs.
Workers from the city’s 33 topless clubs voiced their opposition to the possible changes, saying a ban on lap dances and VIP rooms would force them out of business and leave more city residents unemployed.
“I take care of my family,” said Omni Jenkins, 21, a dancer at a local club. “By cutting us off and making up all these rules, it’s going to cause crime rates to go up. It affects not only the entertainment community, but Detroit as a whole.”
The changes could keep topless dancers 6 feet from customers, on stages at least 18 inches high and in rooms of at least 600 square feet. That would make tipping dancers difficult and eliminate VIP rooms. Other workers — from disc jockeys to dishwashers — also would have to pass background checks and wouldn’t get licenses if they have committed specific crimes.
Some religious groups are pushing for harsher rules, including an alcohol ban and a requirement that dancers wear opaque pasties.
“Let’s be clear: This is not why our daughters were born,” said Pastor Marvin Winans of Perfecting Church. “We’re not trying to run anybody out of business. We’re just trying to make Detroit a world-class city.”
The crackdown stems from a court battle in which a federal judge in 2007 struck down Detroit’s regulations on where clubs could open and ordered them rewritten.
The city has settled two federal lawsuits involving strip clubs recently for almost $670,000. The clubs say they bring in more than $3 million annually to Detroit in property taxes and fees and employ nearly 6,700 people.
“People do frequent clubs and they do have to go somewhere,” Councilwoman Martha Reeves said.
“If they don’t, they’ll take their sexually oriented business on the streets and none of us will be safe.”
The City Council is expected to get a final draft of the ordinances in about a month.