TUALATIN, OR — No matter how many times Oregon voters go to the polls and overwhelmingly throw their support behind free expression, a small but energetic portion of the state insists it isn’t so. Nowhere is this more clear than in the seemingly eternal battle between those who accept adult entertainment as a part of the state’s economic and social well being – and those who do not. At the center of the latest battle is Stars Cabaret, a gentleman’s club chain known for its quality food, big name feature entertainers and gown-clad dancers.
Having heard that the club is interested in opening a location within Tualatin, OR has sent panic through those who think the sight of a woman’s bare breasts and unshaved genitals, especially when coupled by a few cocktails, will spell the end of civilization as the city knows it.
According to The Oregonian, city officials were so unnerved by the prospect of increased employment and entertainment options in the town of 26,000 that they considered limiting access to alcohol permits, restricting ways dancers could be tipped and how far away customers should be located while admiring the view. Alas for the anti-strip club forces, Oregon’s constitution stands firm on protecting all forms of expression, including those undertaken while wearing minimal clothing – or none at all.
Frustrated in their efforts to chill expression, two state legislators and Mayor Lou Ogden have decided that re-writing the state Constitution via House Joint Resolution 42 is the obvious solution to their perceived problem. The Resolution would allow local governments to restrict where nude-dancing establishments could locate.
Given that Oregon’s Constitution currently extends greater protections to speech and expression than the U.S. Constitution, this could be a monumental undertaking.
Tualatin currently has one other strip club within its borders; Jiggles, a juice bar one I-5 exit south of where Stars hopes to be later this year.
“I personally think that the community values in Tualatin aren’t aligned with having nude dancing,” Ogden told the press. “If anything good does come out of this, in all likelihood, it would be after the Stars issue.”
Joining Ogden in the unpopular political position is Rep. Scott Bruun (R-West Linn), who insists that he’s “not trying t make this a free-speech issue. I’m trying to make this a zoning issue.”
Naturally, the American Civil Liberties Union has noticed that this particular zoning issue just happens to relate to free-speech issues and has taken a stance against the amendment.
Before the Resolution can become law, both the legislative body and voters will need to support it, two things not expected to happen.
Although Senate Majority Leader Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin) insists that the goal is merely to “give (citizens) a voice,” Rep. Jeff Baker (D-Aloha) has observed that multiple trips to the voting booth have indicated that “The voters have spoken.”
As far as Baker is concerned, “I don’t see any sense in wasting their time again.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon agrees with Baker and opposes the amendment, which would need legislative support and the approval of voters. Since 1994, voters three times have rejected constitutional amendments to limit free-speech protection for the sex industry.
Stars co-owner Randy Kaiser believes that the zoning defense is merely an excuse to police morality.
“I knew there were zealots in Tualatin,” he told The Oregonian, “and they’d carry the banner to Salem.”
Stars currently operates in Salem, Beaverton and Bend, Oregon.
Given that previous court rulings and the state’s Constitution have repeatedly protected nude dancing, adult retail outlets and even live sex shows through its free-speech clause, Kaiser may well be right when he insists that “This is just totally un-American and contrary to the values of the Oregon Constitution and the Oregon voters.”
