ST. MARTIN, LA – St. Martin Parish residents opposed to adult businesses applauded a unanimous parish council decision to place restrictions on such establishments and their employees. Proponents of the restrictions said they were needed to “regulate” adult businesses and protect the region from perceived damages supposedly caused by proximity to the adult establishments.Councilman Fred Mills, Jr. insisted that the measure to limit hours of operation to no earlier than 6:00 am and no later than midnight, as well as to register adult businesses and their employees with the St. Martin Parish, was “very necessary” and “not a punitive ordinance.”
The ordinance was written by board attorney Chester Cedars, who insisted that he worked with the Alliance Defense Fund and the parish district attorney’s office to perfect the wording, which will affect all existing and future adult businesses including book stores and exotic dance establishments. Cedars justified the ordinance by pointing to 25 areas of “legitimate government concern” included in the 36-page law.
Mike Johnson, attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, contends that the ordinance will protect local communities from any illegal activities supposedly associated with adult businesses that might pop up along interstate highways. Adult establishments often choose interstate locations in an attempt to avoid any limitations present in larger municipalities. He cited national statistics that claim an increase in sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, rape, public nudity, child molestation, lowered property values, and eroded moral standards result around adult businesses.
Under the new ordinance, business licenses for adult establishments would range between $100 and $1,000, with fines for violations running between $500 and $1,000 for businesses and $100 to $500 for employees. All employees of adult businesses will be required to pay a $40 one-time, non-refundable application fee, undergo a criminal history background check and, if approved, pay a $20 license fee.
When adult video store owner Emmett Jacobs asked those assembled who had been harmed by his business, Cedars reminded him that the ordinance was not targeted at any particular business but, rather, for the protection of all.
