Good news for JS69.
shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
A federal judge has ruled against state officials charged with enforcing a law passed last year that prohibits anyone age 18 to 20 from dancing nude in Louisiana strip clubs. The decision deals a major blow to what legislators have described as an effort to shield young women from being exploited by human traffickers that they say recruit young women in clubs and use the venues for prostitution.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier on Wednesday (March 8) issued a ruling that calls into question whether the state Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control was able to demonstrate that the age limits law would not limit free speech. Erotic dancing has long been held as protected free speech under the First Amendment, and Barbier wrote that "there is little doubt" that the law "sweeps up a fair amount of constitutionally protected speech."
The federal lawsuit, filed by three "Jane Doe" dancers, challenges the constitutionality of the age requirement law that state officials will begin enforcing Oct. 1.
The law "violates the First Amendment because it proscribes nudity for women younger than 21 in more settings than those where the risk of human trafficking is present," Barbier wrote. "The law "could result in 18 to 21-year-olds being precluded from participating in theater or similar artistic productions if such participation entails nudity."
The filing is the latest in a months-long legal challenge in U.S. District Court over the law, which requires adult nightclub dancers to be at least 21 years old.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier on Wednesday (March 8) issued a ruling that calls into question whether the state Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control was able to demonstrate that the age limits law would not limit free speech. Erotic dancing has long been held as protected free speech under the First Amendment, and Barbier wrote that "there is little doubt" that the law "sweeps up a fair amount of constitutionally protected speech."
The federal lawsuit, filed by three "Jane Doe" dancers, challenges the constitutionality of the age requirement law that state officials will begin enforcing Oct. 1.
The law "violates the First Amendment because it proscribes nudity for women younger than 21 in more settings than those where the risk of human trafficking is present," Barbier wrote. "The law "could result in 18 to 21-year-olds being precluded from participating in theater or similar artistic productions if such participation entails nudity."
The filing is the latest in a months-long legal challenge in U.S. District Court over the law, which requires adult nightclub dancers to be at least 21 years old.
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4 comments
If the authorities had their way, there would not be any strip clubs anywhere. They only exist because of free speech protections. And so if an 18yo is an adult, which they are by constitutional amendment, then they cannot be excluded.
The only exception allowed is the with the alcohol law. Many states still have a drinking age of 21, and the courts have allowed this.
SJG