El Paso adult businesses may be in store for some stricter laws as the City Council will vote on a multi-faceted adult ordinance today.
One section of the proposed law would immediately mandate a distance of at least six feet between nude or semi-nude dancers and customers, banning lap dances. The second aspect of the ordinance targets adult video stores. If the ordinance passes, it would require a designated employee to monitor all theater activity.
"If people can't go someplace in private, they're going to go somewhere else," Adult Video Warehouse manager Lee Wilson told ABC-7. "If they're not here in a controlled environment, they're going to be on the street…a back alley [or] parking lot."
Area strip clubs are not taking the proposed ordinance lightly either. Attorney Jim Deegear, who represents Tequila Sunrise, told ABC-7 the city can expect a legal battle should the "six foot rule" become law.
"If they pass this tomorrow, they can expect to be sued," said Deegar. "I think we'll be back in Federal Court fairly quickly and the City of El Paso will learn about the joys of the First Amendment."
"The city is probably going to spend money in order to defend this case and at the end of the day, if they lose this case, they will be paying legal fees to my clients as well as any damages my clients incur," added Wilson.
El Paso Mayor John Cook, who is spearheading the proposed ordinance, calling it "a passion" of his, told ABC-7, "This is America, anybody can sue anybody...but suing and winning are two different things."
