May 22, 2007
Protecting the good people of Ohio--- from strippers?
I have lived in Ohio for most of my life. The Buckeye State is my home; but it is far from perfect. There are a variety of nagging problems that plague Ohio: Cincinnati, Youngstown, and Columbus all have high violent crime rates. In the 2006 annual survey of “America’s most dangerous cities, Youngstown came in at #9; and Cincinnati ranked #18.
High taxes have made Ohio less competitive than many of its neighbors. (Taxes are lower in both Kentucky and in Tennessee.) In the area of education, Ohio taxpayers get less value per dollar than Michigan residents. The state is also more polluted than most states with the same level of population.
With all these issues challenging taxpayers, how are our legislators in Columbus spending their time? Well, at present, the state legislature is urgently working on an important issue that effects all Ohio residents on a daily basis: the proximity between patrons and nude dancers in strip bars. Per the Columbus Dispatch:
“Senate Bill 16…..says dancers, both when they're nude and when they've put their clothes back on, must stay at least 6 feet from patrons. It also prohibits nude dancing……between midnight and 6 a.m.”
The new law promises to put many strip clubs out of business, which seems to be the thinly disguised intent of the legislation.
I personally don’t have a dog in this fight. I don’t enjoy spending my time in loud, smoky rooms full of rowdy men, and a few women who constantly badger me for 20-dollar bills. Nor do I see a money-making opportunity for myself on the supply-side here; no woman will ever plunk down good money to see your humble correspondent au naturel.
I am, however, concerned about the bigger picture. Ronald Reagan once said that government has a tendency to “fix things that aren’t broken” and to “invent miracle cures for diseases that don’t exist.” Ohio Senate Bill 16 seems to be a textbook example.
In this case, government has had some help: The Citizens for Community Values (CCV) is a Cincinnati-based group of busybodies that regularly kvetches over anything that doesn’t conform to the organization’s pet interpretations of Scripture. (The group’s self-declared mission is “to promote Judeo-Christian moral values.”) About ten years ago, members of the CCV declared a public emergency when a local Barnes & Noble stocked an artistic photography book that contained implied nudity.
I am sure that the CCV means well; but frankly, its members need to lighten up. There are plenty of legitimate issues that conservative groups should tackle. A trivial matter like nude dancing just isn’t one of them.
And Ohio’s governor seems to agree:
“Gov. Ted Strickland, speaking about the bill in public for the first time yesterday, said state government has better things to do than to focus on strip clubs.” ---The Columbus Dispatch
I recognize that a strip bar isn’t just another business. I am in favor of reasonable zoning laws that keep these establishments out of residential neighborhoods. But we can’t legislate morality, and turn the state into an overbearing Victorian nanny. Consenting adults have a right to disrobe for dollars----and other consenting adults have a right to pay them for it, if they have nothing better to do with their money.