Two more seminars offered
The information shared was received like water on parched ground
From, The Kentucky Citizen Digest, January/February 2002

Following an initial seminar held in Lexington on Oct. 4, entitled “Effective Regulation of Adult Businesses,” The Family Foundation hosted two more on Nov. 13 and 14.  One of these seminars was held in Hopkinsville in order to expose  more of Ken-tucky’s western communities to the strategies of constitutional regulation.  The other was held in Lexington a second time because of demand.

“Our purpose was to educate public officials about the fact that they do have a number of significant regulatory powers at their disposal,” said Kent Ostrander, executive director of The Family Foundation.  “To do that, we secured the services of one of the most knowledgeable attorneys in the nation in this area of law.”

All three seminars were conducted by Scott Bergthold, former president and general counsel of the Community Defense Counsel, of Phoenix, Ariz.

More than 65 attended the three seminars.  Among the attendees were county and city attorneys, detectives, police officers, county clerks and zoning officials. 

A survey commissioned last summer by The Family Foundation prompted the fall seminars.  Ostrander said the study gave hard evidence for what many have suspected – that Kentucky is under-protected from the strategies of adult-entertainment entrepreneurs.  “We felt we needed to act expeditiously,” Ostrander said.

The study shows that only 21 of Kentucky’s 120 counties have ordinances, and that only eight of those 21 have a comprehensive strategy, covering all three criteria allowed by state law: 1) time and place, 2) zoning, and 3) licensure. Only 44 of the 185 cities surveyed have ordinances, and only 11 of those 44 have a comprehensive strategy covering all three areas.  Even those that address all three areas did not necessarily do so effectively.

A few states, including Kentucky neighbors Tennessee and Indiana, have enacted statewide umbrella laws, which ban both nude dancing, and real or simulated sex acts in such businesses. These laws eliminate the most obscene adult-business practices and then allow local communities to regulate time and place, zoning and licensure. 

Currently Kentucky has no statewide prohibition, although legislation for it has been introduced in each of the last three sessions of the General Assembly and is expected to be introduced in the 2002 session.
 

Key Family Foundation Contacts: Kent Ostrander , Executive Director Martin Cothran , Senior Associate Policy Analyst