COLUMBUS - [The Toledo Blade]- The Ohio Senate voted 24-8 yesterday to force strip clubs and adult bookstores to close at midnight and to keep 6 feet between strippers and patrons, even as some who voted "yes" said they've heard no clamor for such a law.
"If we want to be honest with each other, I would suggest that this bill will pass, but I would suggest to you that if it were a silent vote, I'm not sure it would pass. That's something to think about," said Sen. Larry Mumper (R., Marion).
He was one of three Republicans to break party ranks and vote "no."
The bill was given to lawmakers via the initiated-statute petition process spearheaded by Citizens for Community Values, the conservative, Cincinnati-based group behind the constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage that passed in 2004.
The bill now goes to the House, which is expected to act before the four-month deadline expires at the end of the month. Backers of the bill have said they would take the measure directly to voters if lawmakers fail to act.
Air Force National Guard Staff Sgt. Matt Crabtree, assistant manager of Diamonds Cabaret near Dayton, said he finds it ironic that he will return to Iraq to fight for his country while this bill is considered here.
"I'm sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States," he said. "I believe this infringes on the Constitution, the First Amendment."
The bill would require "sexually oriented businesses" - strip clubs, adult book and video stores, sexual device shops, adult theaters, and businesses that regularly offer sexually oriented events- to shut down between midnight and 6 a.m. If the club has a liquor license, it could remain open under the terms of that license, but all clothes would have to stay on after midnight.
Patrons and dancers would have to stay at least 6 feet away from one another, and the dancers would have to be on a stage at least 2 feet off the floor. A violator could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
CCV spokesman Bruce Sheets said the organization is not trying to put adult establishments out of business, something courts have frowned upon. But he noted courts have recognized the right of government to regulate them because of the potential for such social ills as prostitution, drug use, and blighted properties.
"They do have a right to exist, but they can be regulated more stringently than any other enterprise," he said.
A similar bill was introduced last year, but it was watered down after some lawmakers reacted negatively to what they perceived to be election-year threats by the measure's backers.
The resulting law simply empowered rural townships to regulate such businesses as cities do.
Northwest Ohio Sens. Randy Gardner (R., Bowling Green- pictured) and Stephen Buehrer (R., Delta) voted for the tougher version yesterday. Joining Mr. Mumper in the "no" column was Senate Democratic Leader Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo).
Angelina Spencer, a Sandusky native and former stripper and club owner, accused CCV of distracting lawmakers from more pressing issues like poverty, health care, job growth, and mortgage foreclosures.
Now living in Florida, she heads the National Association of Club Executives.
"We should not be exhausting ourselves, going around in circles, debating the issues of adult entertainment because one theocratic organization demands that you do their bidding, their way," she said. "Now that is morally reprehensible."
