NASHVILLE, TN — Metro Councilman Jim Gotto is not at all impressed by the ingenuity of strippers. In fact, he’s upset enough that he wants to amend a law that denies them the right to lap dance nude so that they can’t do it wearing clothing, either. Or at least not anything even slightly revealing.Gotto is one of a number of council members fretting over the fact that a supposed ban on lap dances at Nashville strip clubs has been totally ineffective – because the women are wearing bikinis instead of just packing their make-up kits and surrendering their livelihood after an eight-year court battle.
Club owners, who aren’t particularly thrilled by the fact their dancers are wearing lace and Lycra outfits that can be seen for free at any beach or swimming pool, say they’re doing what they can to comply with the January 15 law while staying in business. It’s that last part that most rattles people like Gotto, who admits that, in addition to changing the laws wording to be more honest about its intent, he’d just as soon “close them down.”
Gotto isn’t the only Council member outraged by the girls’ cleverness. “I’m absolutely appalled that they are circumventing the law,” Councilman Michael Craddock of Madison says. “I think they should be cited for that and taken to court. It was not the council’s intention and they are plainly circumventing the law and they need to be held accountable for this.
What has Council members in such a lather is a technicality in the law being exploited by the industry they’re trying to crush. Although two clubs did close their doors permanently, others have searched for ways to remain in business. For instance, Déjà Vu of Nashville has installed 15-inch mini stages that allow dancers to be near customers without violating the three-foot rule that is in place to make sure naked women do not come into contact with customers. Clubs that stay open until 5:00am have gotten around a mandatory 3:00am closure time for nude clubs by having dancers wear the aforementioned bikinis in order to enjoy after-hours business. Two clubs have chosen to remain open without any changes while legal fights keep regulations tangled in court.
Part of the complication rotates around the definition of “sexually oriented.” Doug Sloan, a board member of the Metro Sexually Oriented Business Licensing Board, says that although he agrees that the ordinance is vague, lap dances are always erotic. Attorney Bob Lynch disagrees, insisting that unless a performer is nude or semi-nude, an activity does not qualify as sexually oriented, and therefore “it’s protected under the First Amendment.”
Sloan expects clubs that don’t fit the board’s definition to be cited for non-compliance – and that includes clubs with dancers in bikinis. Compliance is an especially difficult thing to accomplish for the Brass Stables, a club that has made no changes in its entertainment. According to club legal council, it’s impossible for customers to remain consistently three feet away from performers due to the building’s size.
Brad Shafer, who represents Déjà Vu Consulting, which had its customer seating declared to be “booth,” which further puts the club in presumed violation, is especially upset by the impossible standards. In his opinion, ordinances are not supposed to be created expressly to drive businesses from operation. Strip clubs are already prohibited from selling alcohol.
Many believe that the matter will be resolved, in part, by a court decision about what defines a lap dance and what makes a dance sexual.
