Maryland Clubs Battle New Regulations

The owners of a handful of area strip clubs are feuding with the county council again, claiming Prince George County is treating them unfairly by enforcing tighter regulations.

"We think the county has abused its power when it comes to strip clubs,” Larry Bledsoe, owner of Showcase Theater, told the Maryland Business Gazette. ‘‘There are things we have to jump through that are different from any other business in the county.”

Bledsoe is referring to county bill 61, also known as the Adult Entertainment Clubs Bill, which bans dancers from performing nude in a public place, or within 6 feet of a patron in a private club. It also prohibits patrons from touching a nude dancer. Violators of the regulations, including patrons, dancers and owners, can be fined $1,000 or jailed for six months.

Bledsoe and two other strip club owners in the county filed a federal lawsuit last summer against the county, claiming the tight regulations have hurt business.

According to the report, Bledsoe said the regulations have cost his business $80,000. “Several customers will not come back until the lawsuit is settled,” Bledsoe said.

"Where are your studies that show dancers, dancing inside a club, has an effect on crime outside?” Bledsoe told the Business Gazette. "It would be easier to go to Baltimore or [Washington] D.C. to dance, instead of Prince George’s County.”

The measure, according to county documents, was proposed to curb possible prostitution, drug use and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

According to the report, in September, U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow denied a motion by club owners to delay enforcement of the new laws. In November, U.S. District Court Judge Marvin J. Garbis denied the county’s request for dismissal.