LINCOLN PARK, Mich. - Backers of a proposed Hustler Club in Lincoln Park filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court this week claiming the city’s anti-nudity laws are unconstitutional. According to a recent report, developers of the planned $4.2 million business maintain that that the 3-year-old nudity laws make it impossible for them to set up shop.
“They will not be able to impose unconstitutional laws against us,” Lansing-based attorney Brad Shafer told the Detroit News. “We're confident we'll prevail.”
City officials approved the plan for the club, but planners argued that city ordinances outlaw all public nudity. The city has yet to enforce these laws, as evidenced by local strip clubs such as Atlantis.
State law permits nudity in establishments that serve alcohol.
“The controls are not meant to stop a strip club from operating, because they have a right to do that,” City Council President Tom Murphy told the Detroit News. “We want to control elements that contribute to the poor image that many clubs portray in the community. I know [the Hustler Club] thinks they are being picked on, but they are not.”
Hustler Club planners intend to get the Lincoln Park ordinance thrown out completely.
A Hustler Club in Detroit launched a similar legal challenge last year after the city council refused to transfer an adult entertainment license to the club. A ruling in August on the case found the city’s laws concerning strip clubs were unconstitutional and forced the council to rewrite them.
The prospective club has already come up against a barrage of complaints from religious, anti-porn groups. According to the report, the Lincoln Park Ministerial Association launched a 52-day prayer crusade against the club, as well as issued a complaint to the state Liquor Control Commission last month asking it to decline any license for alcohol.
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