Supporters say legislation will protect against sex trafficking, while detractors see it as an effort to track the workers.
HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania lawmakers are trying to put more regulations on an industry that typically is in the business of taking it all off.
Under a new bill that supporters say will aid in the prevention of sex trafficking, strip clubs and other adult-oriented establishments statewide would be required to register all employees. The proposed law also would bar liquor sales in the clubs and would prohibit employees from being nude within six feet of customers; they would be required to be on a stage at least two feet off the floor.
The goal, said bill sponsor Rep. Matt Baker (R., Tioga), is to “protect women and minors particularly from being exploited and abused – and especially used as cattle for profit making.”
Not everyone agrees.
The proposed regulation seems more an effort to shut down adult-oriented establishments, said Mary Catherine Roper, deputy legal director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania.
The bill would require strippers, dancers, and other employees to provide information including full name, aliases, height, weight, and hair and eye color for the registry. There also would be a $50 registration fee.
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