Welcome to genderberg.com!

     menu
  • Home
  • FAQ
  • Feedback
  • Samantha Berg articles
  • Stories Archive
  • Topics

  •      search



         forums

    visit the genderberg forums

         resources

    genderberg resources

     News: Fort Worth, Texas, council approves new rules for adult businesses

    Porn, Prostitution, Sex IndustryFort Worth Star-Telegram: Sep. 15--FORT WORTH, Texas -- Sweeping new restrictions for adult businesses have been put in place for the first time in nearly 20 years, requiring patrons to be at least 21 and employees to undergo background checks.

    The regulations for sexually oriented businesses, which the City Council approved unanimously Tuesday night, include a limited no-touch policy that prohibits patrons from placing tips in performers' G-strings.

    "This is a stronger ordinance than the one we have in place, and it provides more protections for our citizens," Mayor Mike Moncrief said. "But it doesn't go beyond what, by law, we are allowed to do."

    Courts have held that cities cannot ban sexually oriented businesses but can minimize their effects on neighborhoods by restricting where they can operate.

    An original, more restrictive proposal had drawn concerns about possible First Amendment violations, but the proposal was changed during negotiations between business owners and neighborhood leaders.

    "Today is a great day for the city of Fort Worth," said G.B. "Gary" Kidwell, president of the Hallmark Camelot Highland Terrace Neighborhood Association, not far from three adult businesses on Interstate 35W.

    "I can sum it up in five words: Detail accomplished. Much good work," Kidwell said.

    Fort Worth's 16 sexually oriented businesses include topless and nude clubs, as well as an adult-oriented tanning parlor and an adult video store.

    City reports show that sexually oriented businesses can have a negative effect on property values and can bring higher crime rates.

    In the past two years, more than 77 arrests have been made at adult businesses for offenses such as assault, theft and drunkenness, police records show.

    The ordinance calls for patrons to be at least 21 to enter adult businesses that sell alcohol or allow it to be consumed. Employees may be 18 under state law.

    The changes also prohibit these businesses from opening within 1,500 feet of each other along Interstate 30 and I-35W. And for the first time, sexually oriented businesses will have to set operating hours.

    "This ordinance to me meets neighborhood concerns and doesn't deprive businesses of constitutional rights," said Steve Swander, an attorney who represents several adult businesses. "This is a good product."

    City zoning commissioners approved the changes last week.

    Councilman John Stevenson said he wishes that the ordinance was stronger but accepts it as a temporary compromise.

    "This may not be the last move," he said.

    NEW RULES FOR ADULT BUSINESSES: Patrons of businesses that sell alcohol or allow it to be consumed must be 21. Employees can still be 18.

    --Owners must do background checks on all workers -- from dancers to dishwashers -- and provide copies to the Police Department. They cannot hire people with certain convictions, such as sexual assault, incest or prostitution.

    --A limited no-touch rule allows performers -- when partially nude -- to accept tips only if placed in a mid-thigh garter, a tip jar or their hand. Performers, even those who are seminude, may not touch a customer or be touched by a customer.

    --Businesses may not display flashing lights, silhouettes, drawings or any words or lettering other than the name of the business and an identifying phrase, such as adult cabaret or adult bookstore.

    --Operating hours may be 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Businesses with a valid health permit for food can stay open until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Adult businesses currently have no limits on operating hours.

    SOURCE: City of Fort Worth

    To see more of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dfw.com .

    .end (paragraph)>

    >



    Sorry, Comments are not available for this article.

         myth-heard by men
    Clearly all disasters, or an enormous proportion of them, are due to dissoluteness of women. -Leo Tolstoy Diary (December 19, 1900)

         ms-heard by women
    I've got the stretch marks to prove even God didn't anticipate the woman I would become.- S.M. Berg

         SMBerg Links

         site dedication
    This site is dedicated to Phillip Michael Peck




    PHP-Nuke Copyright © 2005 by Francisco Burzi. This is free software, and you may redistribute it under the GPL. PHP-Nuke comes with absolutely no warranty, for details, see the license.
    Page Generation: 0.25 Seconds