Today, the House Federal and State Affairs Committee voted against the “Community Defense Act”: legislation that would regulate sexually oriented businesses in Kansas.
The Community Defense Act would prevent sexually oriented businesses – adult bookstores, video stores, arcades, strip clubs, theaters, etc. – from building within 1000 feet of churches, schools, parks, and homes. Currently, small towns in Kansas are left to fend for themselves when a sexually oriented business decides to move in and set up shop wherever and however they like. If these towns attempt to place constitutional regulations upon sexually oriented businesses, such as where they may locate or how late they may operate, communities can find themselves slapped with high-dollar lawsuits that they cannot afford. In addition to location regulations, HB 2054 would also require such establishments to close at midnight. These and other mild regulations found in the bill would help protect Kansas communities from the well documented secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses, which include increased crime, decreased property values, prostitution, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and overall blight.
The Kansas Catholic Conference testified in favor of this legislation.