View Full Version : Ohio Strip Club Referendum
Helle
10-22-2007, 07:47 PM
Yeah... see, we're not allowed to wear full bottoms or 'booty shorts' or tanga shorts at my club. Basically, they told me to wear a thong that just didn't show any 'crack'. From visiting the other clubs, it seems girls are mostly wearing thongs and pasties. I don't know if this is ok, but it's the vast majority doing so, so... if they bust down on that, that's pretty much every club and every stripper. If this is something they strongly choose to enforce, I could see them actually being able to close every club down.
Consequently, back to my shoe gripe... I don't see anything in that law talking about shoes straps. We've repeatedly been told that we must wear shoes with a strap at a certain inch line on the heal as the law says but I don't see anything remotely like this. I brough it up to my management but all they say is "Well we read the law and it's there". I get so angry about the little things.
kryssy
10-22-2007, 09:12 PM
My club became a "private club". We are nude and still able to do lap dances
Helle
10-22-2007, 11:08 PM
See, from readint he law though, 'private' nude clubs are NOT exempt. I believe this is true also, since reading the above posted article, one of the clubs mentioned is Vanity/Pure Plantinum, which is a 'private' nude club but is very poignantly not excluded from the law. From what I can read of the new law, private or public business doesn't matter--It's anything considered a commercial establishment.
Also, it's my understanding that even before the law all nude dances had to be air dances, not lap dances, but that might just be a municipal law.
Also, interesting to see a customer touching us is guilty of a first degree misdemeanor. I wonder how many customers would actually get in trouble also, though.
Melonie
10-23-2007, 02:39 AM
Also, interesting to see a customer touching us is guilty of a first degree misdemeanor. I wonder how many customers would actually get in trouble also, though.
That's a very tough one for local DA's and politicians. Leading busted customers out of a strip club in handcuffs before local media is a surefire way to cut future club customer levels in half. On the other hand, its very probable that busted customers with deep local connections can create a whole passle of problems. From the viewpoint of a DA or city council member it doesn't matter a bit if some 'strippers' wind up on the state 'sex crime' register. However, the same DA or city council causing a well respected local businessman to also wind up on the state 'sex crime' register can cost them future campaign contributions / backlash in the local press etc. And busting a visiting businessman can potentially have even deeper ramifications i.e. the city losing out on attracting new businesses i.e. potential loss of jobs / grants / tax revenue. Thus very few localities have dared to enforce such laws against customers even when the letter of the law allowed them to do so.
Basically, they told me to wear a thong that just didn't show any 'crack'
My club became a "private club". We are nude and still able to do lap dances
Look, I'm certainly not a legal expert. However, essentially being told by your club management that you won't be busted for wearing a thong or that you won't be busted for giving contact lap dances in a 'private club' would definitely appear to be non-expert legal advice too after reading the provisions of the new law.
As I posted earlier, this sort of shit by the clubowners is actually pretty typical wherever a new anti-strip club law is enacted. After all it's 'no skin off the clubowner's butt' if their advice is wrong and if their dancers are busted. It usually takes two or three actual busts, followed by two or three actual court decisions by judges and/or juries, to set a firm legal precedent in regard to actual interpretation of the new law. And if you happen to be part of one of the groups of dancers that are busted early on, telling the judge that 'the clubowner told me it was OK' is only going to get you one thing ... a reminder from the judge that 'ignorance of the law is no excuse' !
This is the reason that I would HIGHLY recommend that a few dancers from a few different clubs in the same city get together ... kick in $50 apiece or whatever ... and go for a consultation with a local criminal law attorney that is not directly affiliated with a club. That criminal law attorney is going to know the local DA, is going to know the mood of local LE, and will be able to read the law correctly in light of other state precedents - thus that criminal law attorney will be able to offer a credible professional legal opinion as to what is acceptable under the new law vs what is likely to get you busted. Also, having that attorney's card in your purse could come in very handy some night as you are being led into the holding cell at a local police station !
anabella
10-23-2007, 12:19 PM
This is the reason that I would HIGHLY recommend that a few dancers from a few different clubs in the same city get together ... kick in $50 apiece or whatever ... and go for a consultation with a local criminal law attorney that is not directly affiliated with a club. That criminal law attorney is going to know the local DA, is going to know the mood of local LE, and will be able to read the law correctly in light of other state precedents - thus that criminal law attorney will be able to offer a credible professional legal opinion as to what is acceptable under the new law vs what is likely to get you busted. Also, having that attorney's card in your purse could come in very handy some night as you are being led into the holding cell at a local police station !
I think that is great advice, and if I were planning on continuing to dance in Ohio, I would do it. A defense attorney would certainly know the disposition of the police force and the how likely you are to be convicted, etc.
And I completely agree that "The club owner told me it was ok" is not going to mean shit when you're in front of the judge. You'll be convicted just like the girls who knew they were breaking the law.
Still trying to remain hopeful that it will blow over and no busts will occur.
laplover69
10-23-2007, 04:58 PM
From the Fascist-Theocrats website (CCV)
http://www.ccv.org/20071710ccvperspective.aspx
KamrynAnne
10-23-2007, 05:23 PM
what a bunch of bs.... especially the last part of it....
laplover69
10-25-2007, 03:15 AM
http://blog.cleveland.com/wideopen/2007/10/antistrip_club_advocate_apathe.html
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/10/24/stripped.ART_ART_10-24-07_B1_01891EA.html?sid=101
cinammonkisses
10-25-2007, 06:36 AM
I spoke with a girl yesterday who works in my club. She said everything is the same until 12am and then tops go back on. I asked her about contact and she said it's all still the same. I informed her of what I've been reading online and she was just like, "well the managers said we just have to cover our tops"
~sigh~
And this is why I refuse to go back to work. I can't afford to be told one thing in relation to the law when in reality it's false.
i.breathe.in
10-25-2007, 09:14 AM
its not being enforced right now anyway. but pasties not latex counts as a top. i read on hear about this moleskin stuff im gonna try and hunt some down. i hate latex anyway.
but ina nutshell
pasties
tanga or booty shorts with thong under that covers top of crack
all night.
Helle
10-25-2007, 10:47 AM
Yah I'm having the same problem, with my club telling and enforcing one set of rules that are not even in the thing. I try to explain to them and print off the law but they are just "Well the law I have is official and doesn't say that stuff". Come ON. I'd switch clubs but you know what? Every other club in Columbus is just as screwy.
anabella
10-25-2007, 01:24 PM
Helle, it sounds like your club is at least following the law to the point where it would be hard to bust one dancer, let alone the whole lot of you. The shoe thing may be their attempt to follow some kind of health code. I'm under the impression that laws about covering the nipples are usually health code laws, and then nudity laws are criminal. Maybe your club has the two mixed up.
Technically my club shouldn't allow anyone working there to wear open toed shoes since we serve food, but that doesn't happen, obviously.
I'm glad to hear from this
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/10/24/stripped.ART_ART_10-24-07_B1_01891EA.html?sid=101
That it's not being enforced, and that enforcement is going to be based on complaints. Hopefully that is state-wide, not just in columbus.
That will work until competitor clubs start "complaining" about each other, hoping the others get shut down.
Melonie
10-26-2007, 01:36 AM
^^^ my hunch is that local DA's and cops are waiting to make strategically timed busts ... busts that will 'coincidentally' appear in local media a few days before the upcoming November local elections !
In the meantime I would not be a bit surprised if the state's Attorney General's office hasn't been researching the implications of the new law, and preparing and sending out 'position papers' on violations of the new law to advise local courts and judges. It's too bad that none of SW's Ohio members happens to live next to an Ohio town justice or city court judge, as some 411 would be extremely helpful. However, I'm sure that local criminal law attorneys would also be on that mailing list ...
laplover69
10-27-2007, 04:38 PM
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/10/26/ann26.ART_ART_10-26-07_B2_L089N0G.html?sid=101
Melonie
10-28-2007, 07:38 AM
^^^ under the circumstances, the personal opinions listed at your link are meaningless. If the local mayor or D.A. issues a directive for local cops to bust Ohio strip clubs immediately prior to the upcoming election, or if the bible-thumpers make an official complaint, regardless of what the local cops' personal opinions might be they will have no choice but to carry out the club busts !
anabella
10-29-2007, 02:20 AM
Prompted by the law in part, and by my boyfriend, in part, I've decided to just quit dancing for now. At least for the winter since I wouldn't want to drive all around in the snow anyway.
Back to waiting tables for me, wish me luck :)
Good luck to the rest of you Ohio girls.
laplover69
10-29-2007, 03:44 AM
Good luck to ya Anabella... Who knows this may not be enforced in a lot of cities, and the likelihood of UNIFORM ENFORCEMENT STATEWIDE is slim to none IMHO.
NewMoon
10-29-2007, 05:40 AM
So instead of being nude and in a natural state, they want you to put stickers on your nipples and a piece of cloth on your pubics area to attract attention to the areas they are offended by?
cinammonkisses
10-29-2007, 06:26 AM
Back to waiting tables for me, wish me luck :)
Good luck to the rest of you Ohio girls.
Hey, that's what I'll be doing. I start on Wed. $3.35/hr!!! Im' rich bitches!!! :D
laplover69
11-01-2007, 06:14 PM
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/11/01/rejected.html
Melonie
11-02-2007, 11:37 PM
^^^ The Clubs Busts may Now Begin !
laplover69
11-04-2007, 07:28 AM
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071103/NEWS02/711030332
Melonie
11-04-2007, 08:02 AM
^^^ oh, great
[email protected][email protected]! If the counties get dancer's licensing laws in place, then all it will probably take is one bust under the new statewide no contact law to put a dancer out of business, on the basis that the county will revoke / refuse to renew her dancer's license. Virtually every dancer's licensing law I have ever seen includes a provision for a criminal record check, and a provision for denying a dancer's license (or renewal) on the basis of a previous 'sex crime' bust on the dancer's record.
Since acceptance of a 'plea bargain deal' amounts to a de-facto guilty verdict, the counties could easily use club bust sweeps under the state law, in conjunction with revoking dancer's licenses under county ordinances, as a means of putting clubs out of business. The only way for busted dancers to avoid this would be to reject a 'plea bargain deal', to plead innocent, to take their case to local court, and then be found innocent by a jury of their 'peers' i.e. jealous housewives, bible thumpers, neighborhood residents who don't like the fact that there is a strip club nearby, civil servants etc. Of course if the jury finds them guilty instead, it's likely to result in a $1000 fine plus a week in the county lockup, or ponying up $5000 or so out of the dancer's own pocket to take the case to an appellate court.
Since 90 plus percent of busted dancers are not going to be willing to take the risk of a guilty verdict and harsher sentence in local court, and are not going to be financially prepared to appeal a local guilty verdict and harsher sentence in an appellate court, they're going to be left with little or no choice but to accept a 'plea bargain deal' arranged by the club's attorney to avoid the necessity of paying fines and paying attorneys fees out of their own pockets. However, in conjunction with county dancer's licensing ordinances, this will also result in a big surprise showing up in the dancers' mailboxes a month later ... i.e. a notice that their dancer's license has been revoked, meaning that they can no longer work as a dancer in their own county and that they will not be granted a dancer's license to work in any other county !
minnow
11-04-2007, 08:11 AM
RE: Post#72 link, Melonie response
Although Cincy newspaper, both applicable counties are in KY, not OH. (Cincy right on KY border).
minnow
11-06-2007, 03:15 PM
:twocents: Voted today. sb16 on ballot w. explaination of details. As reported in prior posts/articles, its not being counted (insufficient legit signatures)>:( . I voted NO anyway- Even though not "counted", want to see how voters voted.
Helle
11-06-2007, 07:56 PM
Yeah, someone post on here when they know how it turns out.
anabella
11-07-2007, 11:57 PM
I doubt they will actually release that info, they'll just keep the juicy vote count to themselves.
Sitri
11-10-2007, 10:18 PM
When I voted it said on the voting booth that it wouldn't be counted. So.... that's the end of that.
So how is it going and how is business?
Helle
11-10-2007, 11:27 PM
I dunno about everyone else, but it hasnt actually effected my club too much at all. Stage tipping has disappeared (it was going downhill anyway) but dances are still being sold and we've had a bigger crowd this month than the last month. I'm still averageing about the same but am actually have a few more high days.
My club focuses mainly on selling time for money, as opposed to high mileage lap dances, so it's kind of right up our alley.
laplover69
11-11-2007, 02:30 AM
I doubt very seriously that this law will or can be practically enforced UNIFORMLY statewide. I suspect the majority of Police Chiefs will take the stance that taxpayers $$$ should be utilized for far more serious issues like murders, etc.... Of course the CCV will refute this and claim strip clubs are the root of all evil and attempt to link the clubs with higher crime, etc. through their outdated/irrelevant and misguided "secondary effects" studies. Most Police Chiefs know better! I do think this maybe enforced in areas of the state where the CCV has a strong presence such as the Columbus, Cincinnati areas.... Will see!
Helle
11-11-2007, 03:54 PM
It's true; my nipples do caude blight in communities.
laplover69
11-16-2007, 04:47 AM
Truly yet another FASCIST-THEOCRATIC view from a loony newspaper columnist... This "secondary effects" b.s. is often JUST a GUISE from the religious zealouts to further promote their ideas of a Utopian world in our FREE? and pluralistic society. What a shame!
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/M...rip_clubs_zero
Melonie
11-16-2007, 02:45 PM
B.S. or not, the pertinent fact is that the clubowners / dancers / proponents of supposed first amendment free expression rights were unable to garner the support of even the 6% of registered Ohio voters necessary to officially put the issue on the ballot.
laplover69
11-17-2007, 01:49 PM
http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071116/UPDATES01/71116026/1002/
ViolaStrings
11-17-2007, 05:37 PM
It's a shitty situation, but in the meantime, if you have to wear pasties and frumpy bottoms, do it with style, like this...
or stuff at burlesquecostumes.com
laplover69
11-18-2007, 06:01 PM
http://www.wlwt.com/news/14620115/detail.html