US Sex Sells News

A Missouri nutter lawmaker intends to reintroduce a law creating a host of new rules for adult sex stores and strip clubs, including a ban on lap dances. The legislation was proposed in 2008 as House Bill 2026, but it did not pass.

Representative Ed Emery, has said he intends to file the bill again in the 2009 legislative session. He said the language in the bill would remain mostly the same as it was in 2008.

The previous legislation would have required strip clubs to be located at least 1,000 feet from schools, churches, parks and day care facilities.

Among its provisions, the bill requires that No employee who appears in a semi-nude condition in a sexually oriented business shall knowingly or intentionally touch a patron or the clothing of a patron in a sexually orientated business, and further states that semi-nude dancers shall be and remain on a fixed stage at least six feet from all patrons and at least eighteen inches from the floor in a room of at least 600 square feet.

The original version of the bill also stated that No sexually oriented business may remain open at any time between the hours of 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. Such businesses shall be closed on all official state or federal holidays and Sundays.

Emery said the most powerful aspect of the bill would ban any obstructed views in a strip club, requiring all areas of the establishment be in open view.

The slot machines were quiet, and rock music boomed louder than necessary in the half-empty bar. It could have been a scene from any casino on a dirt road in an unforgiving stretch of desert, but this was, in fact, the Hard Rock Hotel, one of the premier gambling and party destinations in America.

Welcome to Las Vegas at the turn of 2008 – possibly the most depressing and alarming year in the hard-living city's short history. A town that was once considered recession-proof, as people continued gambling and drinking away their sorrows during the bad times, is proving to be anything but.

Until now, gaming revenues in Las Vegas have dropped significantly only once since 1970, and that was in the aftermath of 9/11. In October this year they dropped a staggering 25.5%. Visitor numbers to Las Vegas dropped 10% last month compared to the previous year – and those that are visiting are thought to be spending less than in previous years.

Many who once viewed Sin City as an invincible boomtown, which would party on through any storm, are quickly revising those opinions.

One consequence of the current downturn can be seen in the Vegas strip clubs and lap-dancing bars, which according to reports have seen a sharp rise in the number of girls trying to make a living there.

Shai Cohen, the marketing manager at the world's largest gentleman's club, Sapphire, said he has seen a remarkable increase in the number of girls working as lapdancers in Vegas. We used to get between 250 and 300 girls turning up here to work on weekends, said Cohen. Now we are getting between 350 and 400. This started happening in the last six months or so.

A court battle that ensued after police raided a novelty shop here has resulted in a less-than-favorable ruling for the retailer.

Doctor John's Lingerie and Novelty Boutique was raided by police officers bearing a search warrant who sought to take possession of sexually oriented items. While law enforcement removed only a few items, they did warn management to cease selling adult products.

The point of contention is a law that requires businesses to apply for a special permit to sell sex-related products. However, the attorney representing Doctor John's maintains that the distinctions that would require a store to obtain the special permit are unclear. After operating under a general business license after a 2001 tussle, the retailer allegedly recently reintroduced films the city declared pornographic as well as sexual devices.

Attorney Andrew McCullough, who's been retained by the store, told the court during a hearing, We're trying to find the line. All that we're desperately asking you to do is define the line.

However, Third District Judge Denise Lindbergh refused to state such a definition and rejected McCullough's claim that Doctor John's was trying to resolve the question. Lindbergh declared Doctor John's to be in violation of the 2001 ruling and awarded court and attorney fees to the city of Midvale.

Midvale's city lawyer says city ordinances clearly state that the sale of sexually oriented can't be the primary purpose of an establishment that doesn't have a special license. However, McCullough is prepared to appeal and told a reporter that he believes he'll find more success in the appellate courts.

The US Justice Department has released revised Section 2257 regulations and they are expected to go in effect in three months.

The 167-page draft includes a change that enables for third-party recordkeeping, attorney J.D. Obenberger told XBIZ.

It means individuals and small companies will be able to contract with a third party with the necessary records, giving them added privacy and security and reduction in compliance costs, he said.

The revised regulations are more stringent with the application of Adam Walsh Child Protection Act of 2006, which requires notices to be placed on each page of every adult website.

Webmasters will now need to post a link to the disclosure statement on all pages where 2257-triggering content appears, attorney Larry Walters from FirstAmendment.com told XBIZ. This is a change from the prior method of posting a link only on the home page.

Walters added that there are several other interesting nuggets in the regulations, and the comments, such as the determination that videos embedded on Web pages from sites like YouTube.com need to be accompanied by full 2257 compliance efforts, even if the originating site may be exempt from compliance.

Adult DVD Empire celebrates their 10th anniversary by unleashing a list of the best-selling porn DVD's of all time.

20. Jesse Jane: Erotique
19. Space Nuts
18. Kelly the Coed 1
17. Flesh Hunter
16. The New Devil In Miss Jones
15. Ancient Secrets Of The Kama Sutra
14. The Fashionistas
13. Fade to Black
12. Jenna Jameson is the Masseuse
11. Virtual Sex With Tera Patrick
10. Bad Wives
9. Briana Loves Jenna
8. Virtual Sex With Jenna
7. Dream Quest
6. All Star
5. Island Fever 3
4. Pirates
3. Island Fever
2. Award Winning Sex Scenes
1. Flashpoint

London-based studio Harmony Films officially opens its American operations in Van Nuys.

The first movie to be released since Harmony Films moved its American sales and distribution in-house is Gazzman's Young Harlots: Dirty Secrets, starring Susana Abril, Eve Angel, Sandy Cage, Carmen McCarthy, Carmel Moore, Robyn Truelove and Poppy Morgan on Nov. 19.

Online classifieds company Craigslist has reached an agreement with 40 state attorneys general to screen its erotic services section for 'illegal' content.

Craigslist will require advertisers to provide valid identification and will charge the vendors a fee of about $10. Vendors also will be required to provide a valid credit card, according to a report in the New York Times.

Craigslist said the money will be donated to charities working on child exploitation and human trafficking issues.

On behalf of 39 other state attorney generals, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal earlier this year sent a letter to Craigslist demanding that it remove the erotic ads and enforce its own rules against prostitution.

They identified ads that were crossing the line, s aid Jim Buckmaster, chief executive of Craigslist. We looked at those ads, we saw their point and we resolved to see what we could do to get that stuff off the site.

In March, Craigslist asked the advertisers to provide a valid phone number, and using an automated system, called them advertisers to read a series of digits. The advertisers then had to type into a web page before their ad would appear on the site. Craigslist said that reduced the number of ads.

Buckmaster said: The mere act of authentication will be a very significant deterrent. There are very few prostitutes who want to be called by Craigslist and asked to give additional identifying information.”

Craigslist also filed 14 lawsuits in San Francisco against companies that were helping advertisers circumvent the telephone verification system by generating Internet telephone numbers that could be used temporarily and then discarded.