ProgressOhio

A former stripper, two adult club owners and a representative of the wholesale beer and wine association told a Senate committee that a bill to force strip clubs to close early is unnecessary.

But it was the Republicans on the panel who grilled the proponents the hardest.

If adult clubs are really magnets for crime, why aren't the cops calling for this bill, they asked?

If these clubs really increase urban blight, why aren't local elected officials calling for its passage, another asked?

In fact, not one township trustee, county commissioner or even a local business owner has called and offered support for the bill, another pointed out. Why?

After all the tough questions were asked, Democrats moved to table the bill or sideline it indefinitely. One by one, their GOP colleagues failed to provide the needed votes.

Then the chairman called the roll. Only one member of the committee, Shirley Smith of Cleveland, voted against the bill, advancing it to the Senate floor where its passage is expected..

If this really isn’t needed, why the near-unanimous support?

The Democrats are clearly afraid that if they vote 'no', they and their families will be subjected to below-the-belt campaign ads portraying them as porn-living, anti-family criminals. We've seen it before. Even former Iran hostage Terry Anderson was the subject of remarkably mean-spirited TV ads that portrayed him as soft on terrorism.

The only true courage on display came from Angelina Spencer, a former stripper, who testified against the bill.

Here's some portions of her testimony:

“For the last six years, Citizens for Community Values has force fed adult entertainment restrictions to the Ohio Legislature. CCV leaders have claimed that the 92 adult clubs and handful of bookstores sprinkled throughout the state are responsible for many of the moral problems affecting 11 million Ohioans. I also have heard CCV’s assertions that dancers are drug-addicted prostitutes who spread sexual diseases, and adult club and bookstore owners are in the mafia. The gist of their message is that we need to be placed under extraordinary restrictions because we are destroying Ohio families.

 Hmmm…Well, ladies and gentlemen…meet a stripper.

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During my time as a dancer and club owner, I gave birth to four children and still found the time to graduate summa cum laude from Ursuline College

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Adult entertainment in Ohio generates $250 million dollars per year for the state’s economy and it provides work for almost 10,000 people.

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The controversies over gay marriage and adoption, gambling and adult entertainment are distract our state leaders from the real moral issues facing Ohio – issues of child poverty, hunger, job growth, public education, health care for our elderly and veterans and home mortgage foreclosures.’’