On January 26, citizens arrived at Dallas City Hall to protest against plans to restrict the hours of any establishment classified as a “Sexually Oriented Business” (SOB). The City Council was in talks regarding the restrictions as the protesters stood outside the building voicing their opposition to closing strip clubs and other related businesses from 2:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m.
The plan for restricted hours was conceived when Police Chief Eddie Garcia reported that violent crimes occur at an elevated rate during that time in the area around these businesses. Garcia claims the need for police to focus on these areas keeps them from being able to respond efficiently to calls in other parts of the city.
According to Fox 4, the protesters believe that restricting the hours of strip clubs, adult bookstores, adult video and novelty stores, and adult theaters and arcades will negatively impact employees, forcibly lowering their income and creating the possibility of job cuts.
During the protest, signs that were displayed read, “This is a curfew. Adults have the right to choose how to live their lives,” “Single mothers need to work. We have families too,” “Crime knows no time,” and “SOB Ordinance amendment 41A-14.3. is an attack on women.”
CBS DFW stated that last year, seventy-six percent of all violent crimes occurred during the hours of 2:00 a.m. through 6:00 a.m. at Dallas-area sexually oriented businesses. During a Public Safety Committee Meeting, Police Chief Garcia spoke about the police’s lack of time to respond to the other areas of Dallas when needed because they are so frequently dedicating that time to a few specific areas.
“We don’t want to lose any more lives. We don’t want people’s lives being affected. We want to increase our response times to other parts of the city,” Garcia said.
According to Texas News Today, Mayor Eric Johnson stated, “We’re talking about the long-running businesses that have been running during these times contributing to a significant amount of violence in the city.”
If the Dallas City Council votes to restrict hours for sexually oriented businesses, any SOB that violates the ordinance will receive a thirty-day suspension of their business license. Violation of the ordinance could also result in penalties of up to four-thousand dollars, and a maximum of one year in prison.
