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Defining matters of privacy and of pride

By ANDREW SKERRITT
Published January 11, 2008

The language would make even a sailor blush. No wonder Pasco County commissioners were uncomfortable reading the ordinance out loud.

Trying to limit the spread of sexually oriented businesses is dirty business - but necessary. Even the best efforts of local lawmakers doesn't seem to be enough to slow the onslaught of the sex business, neon signs and all that suggestive stuff that cheapens our communities.

Maybe you read this week about Club Elite, which opened in a Port Richey strip mall last fall. The club touts itself as the home for "swingers" and promises its customers an erotic experience. Unless you've been behind the doors, you can only use your imagination, which, of course, plenty of people are more than willing to do.

In response to complaints, county code enforcement officers have gone by to check out the place during the day. They've reported no sex toys, no whips, no video booths - only beds.

Julian Hayes, the club's attorney, says this business is a private members-only club, where like-minded folks, get together. Of course it's not a sexually oriented business, he said.

Right.

Hayes argues that what happens between consenting adults behind those closed doors, just like inside a motel, shouldn't matter to anyone else.

Whether you believe that, county leaders figure this kind of club deserves a place in its adult ordinance - hence the blue language.

Pasco isn't all that different from so many other communities where sex has proved to be good business. It's one of the by-products of a free society and legal loopholes where some sharp lawyers make their living.

Here's one thing that is for sure: If people didn't frequent these places, they wouldn't survive. And from the looks of the parking lots at night, business is quite good.

That you can see the evidence is part of the problem. Even the live-and-let-live crowd would prefer the sex shops be more out of the way. They don't exactly inspire community pride. How many of you like the idea of a school bus full of children stopping near a XXX neon sign?

This isn't about what consenting adults can do behind closed doors. It's about community standards.

It's about pride.

Andrew Skerritt can be reached at askerritt@sptimes.com or 813 909-4602 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4602.

[Last modified January 10, 2008, 20:34:50]