Here's a related item from New Orleans that came up in one of my Google News Alerts this morning:
Bourbon Street strip club investigation: What is lewd conduct? | NOLA.com
So, the "morals crusade" has descended also on straight venues and even down on Bourbon Street. When I was last there it was still anything goes.
Quote:
When state authorities on Tuesday (Oct. 28) announced the suspension of alcohol permits for five Bourbon Street-area strip clubs and bars, the violations cited included "lewd/improper conduct."
The charge had some NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune readers wondering how authorities with Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control draw the line between what's acceptable adult entertainment and what's improperly lewd at a strip club.
"(L)ewd/improper acts??? ... that's whole point of Bourbon Street," said commenter vegetablelasagna, for example....
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Most other commenters on the Times-Picayune NOLA.com site were derisive and critical, or as I would say, "Shocked, shocked," to quote "Casablanca." These New Orleans and Louisiana officials may share French names but have nothing in common with the film's Captain Renault.
This phenomenon of using liquor laws to crack-down on sexual behavior, sexual expression, and sexual orientation truly bothers me.
It happened just a few years back at the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, although the publicity, backlash, and settlement between the victims and the State of Texas and the City of Fort Worth led to a better place for the LGBT community there.
Rainbow Lounge raid in 2009 is remembered as start to positive change | The Star-Telegram
Whether gay, straight, whatever we seem to be fighting these battles over and over again.