She's an Illegal Personal Ad

Suzanne Wilkins did not get in trouble with the law when she took off her sexy attire and went into her seductive nude dance at Live Shows in Orange County, Fla. And she was absolutely legal when she went around picking up tips after her performance. \n It was not until she put on a long green dress and stepped outside the place that she got arrested. Wilkins was charged with violating a law that makes it illegal for an adult entertainment employee to engage in "personal advertising." To those who enforce the law, personal advertising means directly or indirectly enticing or encouraging potential customers outside the business. \n The former dancer also was arrested last year when she stepped outside clad in a red, white and blue bikini. She was acquitted in the green dress incident but found guilty by a jury when she wore the bikini. \n Now Wilkins is appealing the conviction, arguing that the county ordinance violates her free expression rights under the First Amendment. Her appeals brief argues that a person doesn't lose the right to stand outside and wear a bikini simply because she is employed by an adult establishment. Otherwise, women can be imprisoned for wearing the clothing of their choice. \n The lawyer for Wilkins said the statute turns behavior that is harmless and innocent into a crime. As it is written, he said, it is illegal for a nude dancer to put on clothes and go outside to wave to a friend or sit in a chair or read in a parking lot or even pass out Bibles. In fact, an enforcement agent testified, the only reason a worker in an adult establishment can leave the building is if there is a fire. \n An adviser for the central Florida Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation said the law has only been applied to strippers who wave to passing traffic and that no one is being arrested for innocent conduct. He said the ordinance strikes a reasonable balance to allow strip shows but to keep them indoors.