Over the years, South Salt Lake, to the chagrin of its city leaders, has developed a reputation of sorts as a place for clubs that allow nude dancing. Now, members of the City Council, emboldened by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, want to outlaw this form of "entertainment."
Good for them.
Defenders of sexually oriented businesses tend to rely on two lies to gain points. The first is that communities are being backward and out-of-step when they fight them. In reality, South Salt Lake is joining scores of cities nationwide who already are engaged in a similar fight. People here are neither more or less "backward" than people in the rest of the nation.
The second, and most potent, lie is that these businesses don't hurt anybody, they just provide an outlet for people who enjoy such entertainment.
Fortunately, the Supreme Court saw through that thin argument earlier this year when it upheld, by a 6-3 vote, an ordinance in Erie, Pa., that required all dancers to wear at least a G-string or a pasty. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor stated what has been obvious to many decent Americans for years, that the act of being without clothes "is not an inherently expressive condition." Erie's ordinance sought to regulate conduct, not to silence speech.
The court also acknowledged the argument that nude dancing can lead to crime and other social ills. Again, this ought to be obvious. Sexually oriented businesses inflame passions and carnal desires. This, in turn, destroys relationships and families and entices people to place selfish desires above responsibility.
Each year, Americans spend billions of dollars on hard core videos as well as on sexual entertainment on computers, cable television and live performances. They typically spend more on this type of entertainment than what Hollywood collects each year in box office receipts. Thirty years ago, Americans spent barely a fraction of this amount on similar types of entertainment. It wasn't as readily available. The industry has done an effective job of recruiting new customers, creating demand where none existed.
Given the recent Supreme Court ruling, South Salt Lake's proposed ordinance would be legal. True, the use of small coverings would not eradicate the problem. Unfortunately, the court has not outlawed partially or mostly nude dancing. But it would be a step in the right direction for a city struggling to rid itself of a social cancer.