Overview:
Businesses would also bear all financial responsibilities required to be compliant.
A controversial bill that could reclassify certain businesses as “adult-oriented establishments” is scheduled to be heard on the Tennessee House floor on January 13th.
House Bill 0884, also known as the “Adult Cabaret Bill,” seeks to classify establishments offering “sexually oriented material, devices, or paraphernalia, adult cabaret entertainment, or specified sexual activities” as “adult-oriented establishments.”
Current law classifies adult-oriented establishments as those whose primary “stock or trade” involves sexually oriented material, devices, or paraphernalia such as adult bookstores, adult motion picture theaters, adult shows, and adult peep shows.
Under the proposed legislation, sexual materials or performances do not have to be an establishment’s main source of income to be categorized as adult-oriented.
“It is not known how many additional establishments would be considered an adult-oriented establishment under the proposed legislation,” the bill’s fiscal note said.
Groups such as the Tennessee Equality Project have condemned the bill as “vague” and “far-reaching” and are urging lawmakers to vote against it.
The group noted that it is not clear what type of establishments the bills apply to. A petition from the group noted lawmakers wondering if it would apply to situations like professional wrestling events.
TEP said this uncertainty could leave performers and venues subject to arrests and penalties.
“If it is used to apply to drag performances, it is important to know that drag is a long-standing artform and not inherently ‘adult-oriented entertainment,’” TEP said. “It is a protected form of expression under the First Amendment and state governments should not attempt to restrict the guarantees of the Bill of Rights.”
The group noted classifying venues as adult-oriented establishments not only presents problems for the businesses but for city and county governments. They said the vagueness creates opportunities for mistakes in enforcing the bill.
If passed, affected establishments would have to comply with Tenn. Code Ann. § 7-51-14, which prohibits businesses from operating before 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday and after midnight on the same days.
They are also prohibited from being open on Sundays or a “legal holiday.”
Adult-oriented establishments are also not allowed to be located within 1,000 feet of a child care facility, a private, public, or charter school, a public park, family recreation center, a residence, or a place of worship.
Businesses would also bear all financial responsibilities required to be compliant.
“This proposal is a risky, burdensome, and unnecessary intrusion into First Amendment rights,” TEP said.