Phillip Cosby, whose organization is pushing restrictions on nude dancing and other adult businesses in Kansas, says the benefits of a similar law passed in Missouri in have been varied.
But a member of the Kansas City, Mo. Kansas City ordinances previously required "adult entertainment" permits, both for the nude dancers and the places where they danced.
But Dumit said his department can no longer require such permits because, under state law, exotic dancers perform in what amounts to skimpy swimwear.
I mean, wearing a bikini and dancing, that could happen at a regular bar. Cosby said enforcing some of them, notably a ban on semi-nude bars operating after midnight, requires very little resources. But Judith Hanna, a University of Maryland anthropology professor who has testified in more than strip club-related court cases, says there is no scientific evidence to support Cosby's assertion that the clubs are negatively affecting Kansas communities.
Hanna has argued that exotic dancing is a form of art protected by the First Amendment, an argument that others used last year to scuttle an attempt by Cosby's organization to have a bare-breasted bronze statue removed from the Overland Park Arboretum. Still, Cosby maintains that the threats strip clubs pose are real and Missouri's highest court recognized them after hearing evidence.
