Los Angeles Bans Lap Dancing in Strip Clubs

[SlowwHand]

Booooooo! Hissssss!

1 hour, 29 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - You can look, but you can't touch or even get close any more.

That's the order that went out to patrons of strip clubs on Tuesday when Los Angeles City Council passed a measure requiring dancers to stay at least 6 feet away from customers, thus ending lap dancing in the city.

The ordinance, passed unanimously despite stiff opposition from strippers and adult club owners who fear for their livelihood, banned lap dancing and any other kind of bodily contact between dancers and customers in strip clubs, bikini bars and adult bookstores.

The ban follows rising complaints by people living near adult cabaret clubs about prostitution, drug use, excessive noise and streets littered with condoms.

But club owners and dancers, who make most of their income from cash tucked into their G-strings, have said the ban will kill the thriving business which employs thousands of people.

The new law, which must be signed by Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn before going into effect, requires state-licensed security guards to be on duty at all times. Violators face up to six months in jail and as much as $2,500 in fines.

Roger Diamond, a lawyer representing about 20 Los Angeles strip club owners, had opposed the measure, arguing that a city body cannot regulate what goes on inside adult clubs.

But on Tuesday he said the clubs would "rather work with the city. We're not here to be bad neighbors," Diamond said.

[MikeH]

And people scoffed when I said that Americans were having their freedoms reduced.

[rah]

This blows. (or maybe not )

[Sava]

sigh... whatever happened to this "free" country...

[SlowwHand]

It's a rip-off!

Who wants to meet in L.A. , and protest this ?

Che ! Come here, you protesting bastard !
Show me how this is done.

[MikeH]

How much did the Vegas people bribe them for this legislation?

[SlowwHand]

How much is a beer at these places now?
5, 6 bucks ?
And no lap dancing ? I'm outraged.
It's outrageous, preposterous, ridiculous, and unconscionable.

[St Leo]

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Strip-club recruiters target student bodies

By JONATHAN FOWLIE
Thursday, September 4, 2003 - Page A21


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Cash-strapped students at the University of Windsor are finding the promise of long-awaited debt relief in the pages of the school's student newspaper as they begin classes this week.

Those who follow the directions and call the accompanying number, however, discover there is one catch to the tuition money promised in the ad. You have to take off your clothes.

The ad, which features a glamorous blonde and the words "We pay your tuition," is part of a drive by the owners of three strip clubs in Windsor, Ont., to recruit students who want to earn money by stripping.

"We're really trying to upgrade our talent," said Renaldo Agostino, marketing manager for Katzman Enterprises, the company that operates Cheetah's, Leopard's Lounge and Danny's.

Mr. Agostino said his company will pay $1,500 to $2,000 in education expenses per year for anyone, male or female, who works a regular shift at any of the clubs throughout the semester, and who maintains a B average in classes.

This money will be offered above and beyond their regular salary and tips, he said, and is meant to encourage "intelligent" people with "good communication skills" to work at the clubs.

He couldn't say exactly how much strippers made in an average night, but guessed they are paid about $10 per hour plus the money they make from tips and private dances in the VIP rooms.

"As an entertainer, you are walking out with some cash."

Tuition at the University of Windsor for the fall semester ranges from around $2,400 to $2,700 for five full-time courses in regulated undergraduate programs, meaning a full year of tuition will cost students about $5,000.

Stacy Mayer, a second-year communications student, said yesterday afternoon she found the ad upsetting. "It's disgraceful."

Ms. Mayer said the $7,000 debt she has collected in one year at school is a "constant worry" that "weighs everything down." She feels the strip clubs are preying on vulnerable students facing similar debt loads.

"There are those people who see their situation as a lot worse than I do," she said, adding she believes many of her fellow students will resort at least to answering the ads, and will regret it later if they do decide to take off their clothes just to pay their bills.

She also feels the ads are misleading, because they promise to "pay your tuition," but offer only a small portion of what it actually costs to go to school. "We should put a stop to this."

Mr. Agostino took exception to the suggestion his company is exploiting students.

"Students aren't stupid. If they don't want to dance, they don't dance," he said.

Mr. Agostino, who was behind the controversial dwarf-tossing event at Leopard's Lounge earlier this summer, said that although this is the first time he has run such prominent ads in the campus paper, he never expected such a large reaction.

He has been interviewed by newspapers and radio stations across Canada and the United States since the student paper came out late last week.

He said they have been doing the tuition promotion for 10 years, and slightly more than 30 people -- mostly women -- have come through it.

D'Arcy Bresson, editor of the student paper, the Lance, said he doesn't see a problem with the ads, and plans to run them for as long as Mr. Agostino, who also happens to be his roommate, continues to pay.

"I understand parents' concern for not wanting their children to do certain things, but when they come to university, they're not children any more," Mr. Bresson said. "They will make their own decisions."

Mr. Agostino said he plans to run the ads all year, including some featuring male models. He added that he is just providing an opportunity to help students with school expenses, while improving the atmosphere for his clients.

"Guys who go to strip clubs want to talk to people. They want to sit down with someone who has got some sort of intelligence, who wants to communicate."

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Meh.

[chequita guevara]

They want to ban strip clubs altogether here in Jax. For some reason, they city fathers are under the impression that it will give Jax a bad image during the SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!!!!

[mrmitchell]

[Ben Kenobi]

"Guys who go to strip clubs want to talk to people."

have said the ban will kill the thriving business which employs thousands of people.

Well, if guys go to talk, why all this fuss about contact?

[Tuberski]

Re: Los Angeles Bans Lap Dancing in Strip Clubs

Originally posted by SlowwHand
The ordinance, passed unanimously despite stiff opposition from strippers and adult club owners who fear for their livelihood, banned lap dancing and any other kind of bodily contact between dancers and customers in strip clubs, bikini bars and adult bookstores.

You telling me there wasn't stiff opposition from the patrons of these clubs?



ACK!

[Jaguar]

(Both the frivolous and the serious connotation)

[Ted Striker]

Strip clubs are one of the most vile establishments on the face of the earth.

[MichaeltheGreat]

San Diego has had the six foot rule for years, and there's still plenty of strip clubs around, and most of them not particularly near the jarhead and squid areas. Including one rather interesting one a block from my office. Rather interesting in that it's (a) apparently doing a booming business despite not having a liquor license and the six foot rule, and (b) the owner just cut a deal with the DA's office on his liquor-license bribery case, and there's speculation he'll name as many as four city council members as the recipients of his bribes.