Ohio and Texas Strip Club Laws Differ, and the Reason Why

4/12/2011 12:00:00 AM

Cruising the net for grins and giggles, I came upon the website for Kings Island Theme Park near Cincinnati Ohio. Looking at the website, I saw that the big event for the year there was going to be a Christian Rock concert, featuring such performers as Toby Mac. I started thinking to myself about all the complaining I see about Ohio strip clubs and how much the fuzz put their foot down there. 
 
Being that Houston strip clubs are a hands on experience, while Texas clubs are rated pretty good overall, I started wondering about the differences between Ohio and Texas. I started by looking at churches in Cincinnati and Cleveland. In Cincinnati, fundamentalist churches outnumbered more lenient churches by a margin of three to one, while in Cleveland, fundamentalist churches outnumbered lenient churches by a margin of less than two to one. Comparing these two cities to Houston, I found that in Houston, fundamentalist churches outnumbered lenient churches by a margin of five to one. Well, that shoots that theory to hell. 
 
Next, I looked at political parties. Right now, Republicans pretty much rule things in Ohio, whereas Republicans have ruled Texas completely for nearly twenty years now. If Republicans in Ohio wanted to be pro business, they would unshackle the strip clubs instead of binding them in rules, laws, and red tape. You can’t get near a stripper in Ohio and she’s wearing pasties and other birth control devices. City of Houston strippers wear latex over their nipples, but that usually comes off in the VIP area, along with the panties. In Ohio, uniformed Police and Troopers harshly enforce draconian anti-strip club laws, whereas Police raids on Texas clubs are spotty. That left one thing to check. 
 
I decided to look at the legislative calendar. In Texas, the legislature only meets for 140 days every other year. In Ohio, the legislature is free to work every month of every year. AHA !! We have our culprit. In Texas, there is barely time for the legislature to bang out a budget, whereas the Ohio legislature has lots of free time on it’s hands. Idle time gives minds time to consider stupid ideas and therein lies the rub. The government that governs least, governs best. Texas forefathers were wise to limit the time the legislature had to do it’s business. If only the lonely guys of Ohio were so lucky.

13 comments

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Fenster

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14 years ago

The Texas Constitution severely limits the ability of the legislature to pass laws, due to a lack of a "necessary and proper" clause.

To pass almost anything, a constitutional amendment is required, and Texas has 467 of them.

Fenster

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14 years ago

That is, 467 amendments since the current Constitution was adopted in 1876.

Dudester

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14 years ago

Thanks Fenster

boatmonkey

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14 years ago

You haven't really proven a causal relationship. And right next door in Michigan we have the same sort of legislative setup as Ohio, I think, and our strip clubs in Detroit are hands on and anything goes (if the girl is willing).

Strip club regulation is really a local issue. And once the local standards are restrictive you have a hell of a time loosening them up. Who is going to get elected running on the platform of "We need more strip clubs and girls who will perform sex acts on men for money!". Hell, we have a tough enough time keeping abortion legal...

THEOHIOSEEKER

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14 years ago

Got to agree on the local issue idea. Here in Akron, Ohio dances run $5.00 each at the majority of the clubs and are the between your legs and close up variety. The girls are most instances to try to push for private dances and in most cases are well worth the $15-$20 cost.
While most of our clubs are not "high end", and the girls are not 9-10's, they are very willing to push the morality envelope, and try to get as much as your willing to spend.
After traveling to other parts of the country and experiencing different clubs and area dancer customs, I feel that we in Akron are very lucky to have what we have, dancer contact and cheap dances.
While prices are rising and club patronage is down, it's a buyer's market here. I doubt that the low pricing will last much longer, but I would say that if you get a chance to experience an Akron club, do it soon. TOS

NotFromTX

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14 years ago

I agree with Ohioseeker. I went to a Grand Rapids, MI, club, where rules are so restrictive that girls have to wear bras!!! But get the girl into the private room, which is pretty damn private in the one I went to, and anything goes, just like in Dallas and other clubs. You can do a hell of a lot more in public in a Dallas club than in this GR club, but the real fun is in private anyway.

Book Guy

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14 years ago

I am sure that governmental structure has SOME relation to the level of strictness or laxity in strip-club regulation, both official and unofficial. But I am willing to bet that there are several other more influential factors at work, including (just to run off a few) the distance that people usually have to drive from suburb to office tower (the amount of so-called "vertical" portion to their overall commute); and, the particular TYPE of Protestantism that the most vocal bunch of Protestants practices (Southern Baptists, Quakers, and other sects which stem from a history in the Limited Atonement side of Calvinism as a movement tend to restrict clubbing more; the Unlimited Atonement side, plus the Arminians and Anglicans, tend to be more lax about sexual regulation, but more strict about community standards); the types of industry in town that employ the "knowledge workers" and, therefore, the ratio of female to male stake-holders in local political elections; etc. etc..

samsung1

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14 years ago

Thanks Dudester for picking Ohio. I enjoyed this article a lot.

OHIOSEEKER, makes a good point about Akron having $5 dances but these are done on the main floor with no privacy. They are also mostly done on raised bar stools so the grinding is not as good. Dancers are also NOT allowed to go topless at the popular Jen's Den. Also Jen's Den did not have a stage show going on. The VIP rooms in Akron also have no privacy and are just shared areas with about 10 couches and bright lighting so even if you did get extras it would be uncomfortable and awkward knowing another customer/dancer could walk right in. I tried the VIP at Jen's Den with 3 different dancers and none of them did extras.

samsung1

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14 years ago

^^^^ My bad, dancers are allowed to go topless at Jen's Den but not in the $5 dances only the $15-20 VIP dances.

THEOHIOSEEKER

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14 years ago

Samsung1, Get away from Jen's and hit up the other clubs, Centerfolds, Lusty Adventures, Dreamer's, you nearly always get boobs in your face at the bar, as far as the dances not being private on a barstool, Some of these girls can be pretty "fly" if they want to be. I guess no matter where we are, Y.M.M.V. runs true. TOS

Prim0

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14 years ago

I wonder how much local economics has to do with it. Columbus is fairly prosperous with seemingly more white collar than blue collar jobs. Akron has been hit hard economically over the past few decades. I don't know much about Houston economics but Texas generally has a good reputation that way.

Ultimately, these clubs and the girls themselves have to make things work financially. They may have to push the rules to get enough money coming in one area and not in another. I'm no expert...

Jourdan

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14 years ago

keep in mind ohio might be cracking down more because the conservative has to fight for control of the state. its not like texas which has always been republican... the republicans in ohio need to constantly keep the super conservatives excited about what they are doing. moral policing is an easy way to do this. I remember the anti lapdance law was passed when i first moved to ohio before i was a dancer, and i remember a lot of people being excited about it. Its an easy way to gain more pro family value voters... texas is not a swing state so it is not as important to always be impressing them.

Its kind of the same principle as why there might be more busts etc. right before an election. If the people in power want to prove they are doing something to make their city/state/whatever a more family value oriented place, strip clubs are an easy target. raiding a club and throwing a bunch of girls in jail for prostitution (even if the 'prostitution' is actually just breaking trivial laws like not wearing pasties) then it is press and shows the voters that action against us heathens is being taken.

not sure if i wrote this in a way that makes sense. its 4am and i am drunk and posting on TUSCL. not a great time for words of wisdom.

deogol

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14 years ago

And the TX constitutional amendment thing goes to public vote also. So the "interests" can't buy up or embarrass a couple legislators to get their way.

TX has a lot of "you do what you want on your land and I will do what I want on mine" mindset - especially the hill country and west Texas.

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