CARTHAGE, MO — Motivated by a desire to keep a possible juice bar from setting up shop on a country road alongside I-44, a bill designed to place additional limitations and construction requirements on porn shops is reported to be moving through the Missouri state legislature. According to the Carthage Press, John Putnam of the Citizens for a Decent Environment has informed the Jasper County Commissioners that versions of an adult business bill its members proposed have been voted out of committee in both the state House and Senate.
A version sponsored by State Rep. Ed Emery [R-Lamar] was passed to the House floor thanks to a 9-4 vote, while a Senate version sponsored by State Sen. Jack Goodman [R-Mt. Vernon) moved along after a 5-2 vote.
Although both bills still require further alteration and final approval on both the House and Senate floors, supporters hope they will then pass, with Putnam expecting them to combine into a single law and Emery publicly stating that he wants to “make it difficult for that type of perverted business to sustain itself in Missouri.”
Viewing booth doors would become illegal in shops with DVD previewing rooms and the interiors would need to be viewable from either a cashier’s or manager’s station. Additionally, swing shift workers and night owls would need to make their purchases and evening outings prior to midnight, given that both bills would mandate that businesses close their doors no later than midnight and open them again no earlier than 6:00 am.
Once inside a strip club, dancers would have restrictions on how much of their bodies they would be allowed to show and touching dancers on stage would be forbidden.
New zoning standards included in the bills would require all adult businesses to locate more than 1,000 feed from schools, churches and a variety of other businesses and locations.
