A local gentlemen's club is challenging a city code which remains at the center of a controversy between the club and some concerned citizens. As reported by the Downtown Journal, some city staff want Sinners Gentlemen's Club to stop displaying nude mannequins in its window display, but club ownership is appealing to keep the mannequins up.
Sexually oriented businesses cannot display "merchandise or pictures of the products or entertainment on the premises," according to the code. But Sinners building owner, Jerry Buchanan, told the Downtown Journal that he does not believe the code applies to the window display at Sinners.
"It's a stretch to say a headless mannequin is the product available," he said. "It's a civil liberties issue." Buchanan told the Downtown Journal that he expects elected officials to rule against the business and said the issue would likely end up in federal court.
"I think the city will eventually lose," he said.
The appeal is scheduled to go before the Zoning Board of Adjustment on Thursday.
