KENNER, La. — The Kenner City Council has voted to adopt regulations that seek to limit the negative effects of sexually-oriented businesses on the community. The new ordinance, which was drafted and provided to the city by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys, has already been adopted by at least half a dozen municipalities in the state of Louisiana.
“When lawmakers have to choose between protecting our children and protecting sexually-oriented businesses, the choice is obvious: our children’s safety comes first,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson. “The members of the Kenner City Council made the right decision when they chose to help protect the community from the well-documented, dangerous secondary effects of SOBs, which include violent and sexual crimes.”
The ordinance, which will go into effect within six months, will regulate existing and future SOBs in Kenner. Some of the changes include a reduction in operating hours and a requirement that employees submit to background checks and licensing by the city. In recent media reports, Kenner Police Chief Steve Caraway acknowledged that all three SOBs currently operating in the city have been a source of crime.
As early as 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that SOBs can be regulated to reduce their negative effects on communities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has ruled that regulations such as those adopted in Kenner are constitutional.
The American Family Association of New Orleans, which is made up of citizens from across New Orleans, spoke in support of the new regulations at the May 21 council meeting. The organization partnered with ADF and concerned citizens to ensure that the new regulations were constitutional and would be adopted.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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