A second offense is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine. Touching a dancer's genitals, buttocks or the 'female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola' is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Some 'touches' face more serious penalties. This excludes members of the dancer's immediate family. Fearing that was unconstitutional, legislators substituted a provision prohibiting patrons from touching a nude or semi-nude dancer, or their clothing, in a club, anywhere on the premises or the parking lot.

The law approved by state lawmakers toned down a provision sought by the citizen's group that would have created a six-foot “no touch” zone around a nude or partially clad dancer. That includes adult book and video stores, theaters, sexual-device shops and 'sexual encounter' centers. Although clubs that serve liquor are allowed to be open after midnight, adult entertainment must stop. The law requires all 'sexually oriented businesses' to close between midnight and 6 a.m. We have gone back as far as we have records for, and nothing has been found,” he said.

“We have not had any complaints or reasons to apply this law. The Franklin County Sherriff’s office found no instances in which the 2007 law had been cited, according to spokesman Marc Gofstein. While the law has been on the books for a decade, it is rarely used. Ted Strickland allowed the law to take effect without his signature. The women later violated House rules by unveiling a banner in the balcony during the floor debate. The heated Statehouse debate included young women in tight, pink 'Dancers for Democracy' t-shirts greeting lawmakers outside the House chamber. Otherwise, the group could have gone to the ballot to put the issue to a public vote. The group proposed the act as an initiated state statute, prompting the General Assembly to pass watered-down legislation with similar provisions. The Community Defense Act, as it was called, was approved in 2007 at the urging of Citizens for Community Values, a Cincinnati-based conservative religious organization. The Dispatch reports that at least one effort failed because an overwhelming number of signatures collected were found to be invalid.A state law enacted 10 years ago to restrict sexual activity and limit operating hours at strip clubs and adult book stores has been spottily enforced, and in some cases not at all. But a referendum has never been placed on a ballot. There have been efforts to repeal the law in Ohio, by putting it to voters. We have gone back as far as we have records for, and nothing has been found.” But it has rarely been used in Ohio, if at all, according to a 2017 report from the Columbus Dispatch.Ī spokesman from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office told the paper, “We have not had any complaints or reasons to apply this law. The Community Defense Act became law in 2007, even though then-governor Ted Strickland had not signed it. The Community Defense Act Has Rarely Been Used

However, these businesses are not allowed to present any “sexually oriented entertainment activity” after midnight.īusinesses subject to the Community Defense Act provisions include adult bookstores, adult cabarets, and “sexual encounter centers.” The document reads that the goal of the law is to “promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the people of Ohio by preventing the negative secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses, such as lewdness, public indecency, prostitution, illegal use and trafficking of drugs, blight and sexual crimes.”ĥ. Locations that sell liquor, like Sirens, are allowed to remain open past midnight. The law also requires that these “sexually oriented businesses” close between midnight and 6AM. The law also specifically states that a nude or semi-nude performer is also prohibited from touching a patron “while on the premises of that sexually oriented business.” A violation is a first degree misdemeanor. The Community Defense Act of 2007 made it illegal to touch a stripper in Ohio while he or she is performing, unless you are an immediate family member.

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