The CARES Act is probably this Country’s most monumental piece of legislation. In a rare showing of support many consider “socialist” (because it helps people) American businesses were able to keep their doors open.
Sort of…
What many people don’t realize is that the SBA (Small Business Administration) excludes, among other establishments deemed undesirable, strip clubs from receiving SBA loans.
The CARES Act makes no such differentiation.
That did not stop the U.S Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit from denying strip clubs the right to receive them on grounds that the SBA rule prohibited it and ruling in favor of puritanical beliefs rooted in religion: “The problem with plaintiffs’ First Amendment claim and the preliminary injunction here is that Congress is not trying to regulate or suppress plaintiffs’ adult entertainment. It has simply chosen not to subsidize it. Such selective, categorical exclusions from a government subsidy do not offend the First Amendment.”
This sets a dangerous precedent and is absurd— the government is not forced to subsidize any business! But under the CARES Act they cannot discriminate. Subsidizing only those businesses that match your moral compass is an abuse of the Court’s discretion. And choosing “not to subsidize” certain businesses is a violation of the First Amendment. Other courts disagree with the 7th Circuit’s decision as reported on last year by YNOT. The fallout of course does not just affect the business owners, it impacts working poor and single mothers.
What reason is the adult entertainment industry being excluded? Is it legal? Yes. Do they pay taxes? Yes. Unlike churches who were handed out more than $521 billion dollars in PPP loans.
What’s really ironic is the government’s willingness to grant PPP loans to said churches which have a track record of dirty dealings yet refuse to provide SBA loans to strip clubs where a multitude of people spend their time after church. Perhaps they need to check out the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s Black Collar Crime monthly feature to see the amount of illegal sexual activity that is being reported on a daily basis in places of worship around the USA and compare it to the supreme sin of a performer legally taking their clothes off in a strip club and entertaining people who want to pay for it (many who probably received SBA loans).
To add insult to injury, this same government who preaches what they will and will not subsidize based on morality, is just fine taxing strip clubs’ earnings. The money isn’t “dirty” if swells their coffers. It’s only dirty if they’ve got to give something back to help keep the business afloat during a pandemic.
A little hypocrisy there, no?
In closing, the defendant’s argument preached: “The Supreme Court has repeatedly drawn a line between government regulation of speech, on one hand, and government subsidy of speech, on the other. Its decisions show that the government is not required to subsidize activity simply because the activity is protected by the First Amendment.”
Ultimately the Court is not required to do anything. But they are required to apply the same rules to all tax paying citizens. Answer to why so many other small businesses including churches got your handout but strip clubs did not. The issue is sure to make it to the U.S. Supreme Court, but with Amy “I used to be a member of a sex cult” Barrett on the Court, the 7th Circuit decision may be the law. Find out what you can do in your state to oppose these devastating decisions.
American flag image by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
