The owners of seven Northern Kentucky strip clubs said they will file a lawsuit in the next week challenging a regulating ordinance adopted Tuesday by Kenton County Fiscal Court. They claim the ordinance violates their First Amendment right to free speech.
Kenton County was the first Northern Kentucky government to adopt the new ordinance, which imposes regulations on all types of sexually oriented business, including strip clubs, escort services and adult bookstores.

Jeffrey Willis, CEO of the La Fox Group, which owns Rodney's La Fox and Viva La Fox in Covington, said Cincinnati lawyer H. Louis Sirkin would file the suit by Fridayon behalf of club owners.

Other clubs participating in the suit, Willis said, are Club Venus and The Pad in Covington; The Brass Bull and The Brass Mule in Newport; and The Playpen Gentleman's Club in Wilder.

Willis said he and the other owners are in favor of regulation, but that Kenton County's ordinance simply goes too far and hinders the ability of club owners and entertainers to make a living and operate. He disputed government officials' assertion that the clubs are breaking the law.

"We're already under one of the most stringent ordinances in Covington and now they are trying to say that our performers can't even talk to anyone," Willis said, referring to a provision in the Kenton County measure that prohibits dancers who perform on stage from setting foot in areas of the club open to customers.

"When did these people get the right to tell somebody who they could and couldn't talk to?" Willis said. "They have no right to do that." Full Story...