What is adult cabaret? Who is a go-go dancer?
Who among us gets a little too excited about Mrs. Doubtfire?
West Virginia senators debated those points on Wednesday during a passage vote of Senate Bill 590, which criminalizes adult cabaret performances on public property or where minors could view them.
The legislation passed on a 31-2 vote. So now the bill goes to the House of Delegates.
The bill defines adult cabaret performances as events featuring topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators, appealing to prurient interests.
A first offense is a misdemeanor with penalties of 30 days to six months confinement, while a second offense is a felony with fines up to $25,000 and imprisonment of one to five years.
“I urge passage of this bill on behalf of the children who should not be exposed to this type of adult entertainment,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Tom Willis, R-Berkeley.
But who is to say what these terms mean, asked Senator Joey Garcia, D-Marion.
“What is a go-go dancer?” Garcia asked, meaning that he would like further clarification of how the law would define that.
Willis read from the dictionary: “A dancer, usually scantilly dressed, who performs rhythmic and often erotic dance routines.”
Willis said a key element of the legislation is a provision that the material would be intended to appeal to prurient interests.
“Fortunately, we have a third branch of government called the judiciary branch, which is here to help us interpret the laws that we passed. I think this is sufficiently objective for them to do so,” Willis said.
Garcia asked about how the terms might apply to situations like public concerts or plays.
For example, he suggested, Mrs. Doubtfire, which is about a divorced actor who is willing to go to any lengths to get his children back, even posing as a matronly Scottish housekeeper. Mrs. Doubtfire is best known as a Robin Williams movie, but there is a Broadway play with a national tour too.
“If someone was dressing as the opposite sex then this would apply to them, potentially?” Garcia said.
Willis returned again to the definition of prurient interests. “The question I would ask is, does Mrs. Doubtfire appeal to the prurient interest defined as having to expressing lustful ideas or desires or does Mrs. Doubtfire tend to illicit lust or lewdness?” Willis asked.
Garcia responded, “I’m not going to speak personally, but you never know for some people.”
He concluded by restating his concern that the bill has loose terms that could result in arrests. “Do people have to worry now about what they wear in public about how it’s going to make somebody else feel? About whether it’s going to turn somebody else on? I think that’s a dangerous road to go down.”
Senators also passed additional bills, including:
SB 805, relating to abortion pill reversal. The process involves taking the hormone progesterone for several weeks. There are conflicting reports about the safety and viability of a reversal, but the West Virginia bill would allow it.
Senate Bill 1083, which clarifies and expands the legal definition of “indecent exposure.”
It clarifies the definition of indecent exposure by requiring the exposure to be likely to cause affront or alarm to the person to whom he or she exposes himself or herself. It includes undressing in the opposite sex’s locker room within the crime of indecent exposure.