ORLANDO, Fla. — A 19-year-old stripper is now suing the state after she lost her job.
Serenity Bushey worked at Cafe Risqué outside Gainesville up until this month.
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In an over 50-page complaint, she claims a new law raising the age requirement for her profession lost her her job and is now violating her First Amendment right to express herself.
She writes that at least eight other performers at Cafe Risqué also lost their jobs because of the new law.
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Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 7063 earlier this year. It bans anyone under the age of 21 to work at adult entertainment establishments.
Lawmakers said it’s meant to combat human trafficking.
The legislation states performers are subjected to engage in sex trade and even trafficking with customers managers, owners and workers at establishments. The bill states restricting the employment for performers under 21 “furthers an important state interest of protecting those vulnerable individuals from sex trafficking, drug abuse, and other harm.”
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But Bushey along with adult establishments argue in the suit that the new law is too restrictive.
In addition to age restrictions on performers, the law also doesn’t allow cooks, waitresses, DJs and security personnel to work at adult entertainment establishments, the suit says.
Cafe Risqué, a Jacksonville strip club, and a Jacksonville-area lingerie store are also joining in the lawsuit filed against the Attorney General saying the legislature didn’t consider a less restrictive regulation.
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They write the law “unreasonably burdens speech without measurably advancing any significant governmental interest,” the lawsuit reads. “Plaintiffs have a right to associate with adults of their own choosing, including the right to employ and contract with those adults.”
Lawmakers recognized that performers have protected First Amendment rights. However, the legislation outlines instances where similar laws and ordinances have passed-- citing safety as the reason.
The bill notes that a Louisiana law still stands over banning alcohol in adult entertainment sites that hire entertainers under 21. The City of Jacksonville passed an ordinance that requires entertainers to be 21 to curb human trafficking and prostitution. The case is still in federal court.
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