By James Tillman
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, July 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed long-fought-for legislation on Friday that will restrict strip clubs and other sexually-oriented businesses. The law is the result of a lengthy battle waged by state senator Matt Bartle, who has worked to secure the bill against the inevitable judicial challenge that it violates the U.S. Constitution.
The Missouri Catholic Conference, which has supported the bill, praised its passage.
“Some legislators were trying to essentially shove the bill into the darkness and prevent a vote on the bill. We knew votes were there, so we worked to bring the bill to light for debate, and we succeeded,” Kayla Muck, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Catholic Conference, told the National Catholic Register.
The bill requires strip clubs to close at midnight and prohibits any strip clubs opening within 1000 feet of a school, place of worship, day care, public library, public park, or residence.
"It used to be, you know, 20 years ago, these businesses congregated in certain places," said Senator Matt Bartle.
Their movement to more public areas, he says, has brought a host of negative effects.
"Increase in crime, [and] diminution of property values are two of the biggies that these businesses bring," he said. "And I think a lot of people felt like it just make our state look tawdry."
The new law also bans total nudity, alcohol, clients younger than 18, and physical contact between clients and employees of such establishments.
"Some would say we’re making a moral judgment," said Sen. Bartle. Nevertheless, he continued, all "laws make moral determinations. They set parameters up. Our society believes that one person shouldn’t be allowed to kill another person. Well, that’s a moral judgment."
"That’s our job ... [to] set the bar. And if we set it in a place that is either unconstitutional, then the courts will tell us, or if we set it in a place that the people don’t agree with, they’ll throw us out."
Gov. Jay Nixon signed the legislation on Friday; it will come into effect August 28, but will face a court challenge alleging that it violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and certain provisions of Missouri's constitution.
Dick Bryant, who represents various sexually-oriented establishments, said that lawmakers did not properly research the economic effects of the legislation, which raises constitutional issues.
He and others decried the fact that exotic dancers and other employees of sexually-oriented businesses would lose their jobs. But such arguments have not convinced supporters of the bill, who say such businesses exploit women.
“Some lament the spread of adult sex shops and bars, but argue that curtailing their activities will undermine basic American liberties," said the Missouri Catholic Conference's Mike Hoey. "But freedom itself is imperiled when society permits the exploitation of women.”
According to Bartle's staff, the bill was specifically designed to withstand legal challenge.
Similar legislation faded away in the House in 2005, amid accusations that donations from the "adult entertainment" industry influenced lawmakers’ handling of the bill.
Then-House Speaker Rod Jetton assigned the bill to what Bartle considered an "unfriendly committee," allegedly after a $35,000 donation from the “adult entertainment” industry. A federal grand jury has been investigating the case.