For the ban. \nTAMPA - It took over ten hours' worth of a Tampa Convention Center ballroom hearing to do it, but the Tampa City Council voted to ban lap dancing at the city's adult entertainment clubs for the second time. And with Mayor Dick Greco having been outspoken in his support of the ban, it's probably a done deal that he'll sign it and make it the law of the city - if he hasn't already.
At this writing, there is speculation the mayor may have signed off on it during the hearing itself and before the formal Council vote. And if the speculation holds true, the ban could end up facing a court fight.
The ban keeps dancers six feet or better away from customers or even other club entertainers while onstage. Violators would face a $1,000 fine and six months in jail at maximum, and a club having over three violations in 30 days could be shut down as a public nuisance. \nChristina Steinbrenner - against the ban.
The expected shock highlight of the day, though, didn't happen after all - a police videotape purporting to show sex acts in Tampa strip clubs wasn't shown, after an attorney for one of the clubs filed suit in circuit court to stop its being shown. Police instead offered graphic details of their investigations during the marathon hearing - including group sex with customers, prostitution, and even rape.
The council's vote happened in the early Friday morning hours, following a long Thursday day and night of comment from vice police, adult entertainers, church leaders, and hired experts, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Entertainers and their attorneys counter-testified that what police claimed to find in the clubs happens only "at a few seedy clubs, body scrub and lingerie shops," the paper says, which doesn't reflect what normally occurs at their clubs.
Tampa being one of the few cities that had allowed nude entertainers contact with customers has led to a contest to see which club can be the worst of the lot, Greco said at the hearing. "What is going on in this town is wrong, and it will not stop until you pass this ordinance," he said. "There's just too much money in it."
"I have never prostituted myself," retorted dancer Tigger Finkelson. "I have never had a sexually transmitted disease. Dancing is not degrading to me. What you're trying to portray me as is degrading to me."
There were one or two reported confrontations at the convention center, the Times says, including 71-year-old Elizabeth Hernandez called a group of dancers sinners and Mons Venus club dancer Heather Linville firing back that she's a churchgoer herself. City Council Chairman Charlie Miranda reportedly had to gavel and warn against outbursts during speeches.
Some at the hearing spoke of "sexed-up men" being turned loose on the public and possibly committing sexually-oriented crimes after spending time in the clubs. The dancers called on the city to clean up the illicit sex but not to ruin the business which pays their mortgages, children's tuition, and medical costs, the Times says. "We have to have contact or it will destroy our business," testified Mons Venus day manager Joni Hicks. "Why punish a couple thousand people. Please don't condemn the innocent."
