JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Several adult businesses were heading to court in their challenge to a new Missouri law banning full nudity and alcohol at strip clubs and adult stores.
A lawsuit filed by several parties in the adult entertainment industry would stop the law from taking effect Saturday. A Cole County judge scheduled a hearing on the lawsuit Thursday.
The law would bar anyone younger than 18 from entering a sexually oriented business and prohibit touching between seminude employees and customers. It would also require stores and clubs to close before midnight and block new adult businesses from opening near homes or schools.
The lawsuit raises free speech issues and claims Missouri legislators failed to follow proper procedures in passing the new restrictions.