US strip club owners unhappy over nudity ban

Missouri strip club owners are protesting against a soon-to-be imposed law that bans full nudity and alcohol sales.

State senator Matthew Bartle's law, which comes into effect on August 28, forces clubs to close at midnight, keeps customers at least six feet from the stage, and bans touching between the dancers and customers.

"I think [the clubs] are places that deepen stereotypes about women and are degrading to women," ABC News quoted Bartle as saying. "I know there are many that disagree with me, I've heard all the arguments, it's art and this, that and the other. That's the choice I make. The lawmaking was focused on, what are the ripple effects from having these businesses in our communities?"

But an unhappy group of club owners is preparing to sue the state.

Dick Bryant, a club owner, said: "This is no role for government. Regardless of whether you like it or not, it's not the role for government to be saying what's moral, what's immoral.

"This is a legislator imposing his will on the citizens of the state. No one is being required to come into adult entertainment facilities. People aren't forced in off the street, they are not dragged into these places.

"The businesses blend into the community. Kansas City was studied a few years ago, and ... they couldn't demonstrate one place where there was a decreased value, increased crime, or a problem caused by the presence of the business."