He-man_small
Reputation: 73

Washington's pesky alcohol/nudity prohibition laws

I just got back from Portland -love that place, for many reasons, one being the plethora of strip clubs. They're fun! They're entertaining! They lower my stress level (scientifically proven to be true!). They stimulate the economy!

Now, how do we get such clubs in Washington?

I know WA has ridiculously prude/strict liquor/nudity laws, so much that that you can't have a beer while watching Hump!. Amateur videos, some pornographic, less than 6 minutes in length. What the hell?

ANYway, how can we get rid of these laws?
Where exactly in the RCW are they stated?
What would it take? An citizen's initiative? A change to the state constitution? What?

And finally, a few month's ago, the State Supreme court (I believe) of Maryland found that county laws prohibiting alcohol/nudity violated the 1st amendment. What are the chances of that verdict having an effect in Washington?

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  • Avatar_default
    Reputation: 831

    It's in the administrative code:
    http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=314-11-050

    The WAC consists of the rules government agencies make, based on the regulatory authority given to them by the legislature in the RCW.

    So the liquor board itself would need to change the rule. But an act of the legislature or an initiative could force them to do so. Personally, I think strip clubs gross out a sufficient number of otherwise liberal-minded voters that, combined with the more traditional moralists, there's not much chance of an initiative or legislative solution. The best bet is probably appealing to the board directly. Although this is still pretty unlikely, as an unelected and ostensibly non-partisan body they are perhaps in more of a position to listen to reason. You might need to come up with a better public policy reason than "I wanna see genitalia and drink beer" though, even as compelling as you and I might find it.

    The issue with the court case in Maryland was that the law had an immensely vague definition of "adult entertainment" that didn't have anything to do with nudity. The decision wasn't that nudity in the strip clubs was protected by the 1st amendment, but that other things that ARE protected could be caught in the law's vague definition (among other things, it was speculated the Baltimore Ravens could be so labeled because of the butt-patting). Unfortunately, this probably has no bearing on the situation here, where the rule is very specific and goes into great anatomical detail.

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  • 2959482589_d59a69c6e4_small
    Reputation: 281

    I don't have an answer for you, but I agree with you 100%.

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