Thursday, July 27, 2006
The issue would close strip clubs and adult bookstores at midnight and prohibit lap dancing.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- A ballot issue proposed by backers of the constitutional ban on gay marriages would close strip clubs and adult bookstores at midnight and prohibit lap dancing.
The issue reflects what was left out of a bill set to become law Aug. 17 that gives townships more leeway in regulating adult businesses.
Citizens for Community Values, which spearheaded the 2004 amendment that bans gay marriages in Ohio, has asked Attorney General Jim Petro to approve language on petitions it intends to circulate to get the adult-business issue on the November 2007 ballot, should the Legislature fail to revisit the law to add the new language.
The issue would prohibit nude dancing within 6 feet of customers and require sexually oriented businesses to close from midnight to 6 a.m. Strip clubs with permits to sell alcohol could remain open, but the entertainment would have to stop at midnight.
The group submitted language to Petro that he rejected on July 17 because it did not mention the criminal penalties for violating any of its provisions. The group was rewriting the language to try to get Petro's approval. The group has until Aug. 6, 2007, to gather enough signatures to qualify.