S.O.S. Save Our Strippers! Date Thursday, April 25, 2024 - 05:27 AM PST Topic Politics (On a personal note, I used to be a dancer. There was nothing filthy or degrading about it. Laws like these are WRONG... they take much needed work away from people who might otherwise have a very tough time trying to find a *respectable* job that pays as well. The sex industry does not harm anyone. Adult businesses cater to ADULTS, and as adults, we ought to have the freedom to decide what kind of entertainment we wish to take in. Nobody should be taking your hand as if you were a little child and keep you away from things that THEY see as *immoral*. You have the right to decide for youself what you see as immoral and what you see as harmless fun. Dancers are not prostitutes. They are not drug addicts. They are the single mother trying to provide for her children. They are the college student, struggling to put herself..or himself...through school. Many are bright, happy people who have talent and skill and love what they do. If a law like this goes through, we lose yet another avenue for freedom of expression. Please, do not let this happen. Go and sign the petition. Even if you do not enjoy watching beautiful, talented people perform their magic on stage... sign it. If they get away with this, who knows what they will take away from us next? Use your voice... and a pen. You sat by silently and gave up your right to smoke in your favorite bar. When will your silence end? ~MJ ) ***original post*** Because whatever we think about sexually oriented businesses, we don't want the government telling us how to live our lives. Over the last few years we've witnessed the rise and growing power of groups that want to restrict personal freedoms, reverse progress in women's rights and reproductive rights, impose a moral standard that says homosexuality is wrong and gay people should be "converted" to heterosexuality, and censor the information available to adults. One of those groups is based right here in Ohio, and it's called (blandly enough) Citizens for Community Values. Headed by Phil Burress -- an arch-right conservative in Cincinnati -- CCV recently pushed through a so-called "Stripper Bill" (it should be called the "Big Brother Burress Bill") that would do the following: 1) Require all Sexually oriented businesses to close between midnight and 6:00 am. 2) If a Sexually oriented business has a liquor permit it can remain open until the hour specified but cannot offer sexually oriented entertainment. 3) Require all employees to stay 6 feet away from all patrons before, during or after performance, and on a stage at least two feet above the floor. 4) Prohibit touching any patron at any time. 5) Prohibit touching another person who is nude or semi-nude at any time. 6) Redefines Adult Bookstore, Adult Cabaret, employee, patron etc. Who would this affect? Everyone in the adult entertainment industry here in Ohio. The definitions of sexually oriented business, employee, nudity and patron in the proposed statue are so broad that bookstores, movie theaters, strip clubs, anyone in the industry will be run out of business if this passes. Burress claims to be motivated by a desire to "protect" women -- but dancers in Ohio (who have formed their own group, Dancers for Democracy) are saying that they don't want protection from someone like Phil Burress. They just want to do their jobs, earn their paychecks, and support their families. Phil Burress and CCV need to be stopped. Right now petitions are circulating to get the issue on the ballot, so that THE VOTERS OF OHIO -- not Phil Burress and arch-right legislators who aren't in touch with the people of Ohio -- can decide for ourselves. And you can help. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRINTING AND CIRCULATING ON-LINE PETITION You can help the petition drive by printing a copy of the petition from your computer and gathering signatures of registered Ohio voters, or you can help by just signing your name to a petition and mailing it back to Keep Ohio Free, the group that is organizing opposition to this legislation. The instructions for using the on-line petition are as follows: 1. Your computer must have Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed on your computer to print out a copy of the petition. You may install a free copy of the softwareat http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html 2. Print out all pages of the petition. Please staple the pages together before you begin circulating the petition to insure that all parts are presented to signers and do not become misplaced. If a petition is submitted with a missing page all signatures on the petition will be invalid. To open and print a copy of the petition, go to http://www.baceohio.com/Referendum%20Petition.pdf 3. There are specific rules that must be followed when circulating a petition. The rules are found below these instructions. 4. When you are finished circulating or signing a petition, please mail it to: Julie Heffelfinger, 137 E. State Street, Columbus, Ohio 43015 OR, you can sign the petition in person at one of these locations: Diamonds Cabaret 960 State Rt. 725 Dayton, OH 45459 937-434-3833 Baby Dolls 10963 Lower Valley Pike Medway , OH 45341 937-849-1400 Club Masque 34 N. Jefferson St Dayton, OH 45402 937-228-2582 Adult TX Bookstore 6388 N. Dixie Dr. Dayton, OH 45414 937-454-9999 84 Video 3407 State Route 84 Kingsville, OH 43431 440-224-3617 Adult Mart West 7582 US Route 6 Gibsonburg OH 43431 419-288-2131 Adult Toy 1410 Market Street Youngstown OH 44507 330-743-2051 Rocky's 13330 Brookpark Road Cleveland OH 44135 216-267-4659 Schlock #1 1406 Elida Road Lima OH 45805 419-224-8851 Video 'N Things 292 West Avenue Tallmadge OH 44278 330-633-1101 West 9th 1273 West 9th Street Cleveland OH 44113 216-687-1229 Your Fantasies 3101 Berea Road Cleveland OH 44111 216-671-8510 General Video of America 3700 Kelley Road Cleveland OH 44114 216-391-4800 x364 This article comes from Shmeng http://www.shmeng.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.shmeng.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=855