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I don’t know why this story reminds me of the classic Frank Zappa tune “Titties & Beer”

Since the 1950’s, Pennsylvania has had a law on the books as part of the Pennsylvania Liquor Code which says that no place with a liquor license can offer any “lewd entertainment.” While the law has been challenged now and again, the Pennsylvania Courts have always upheld it - in fact, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has twice found it constitutional. Well, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has now had its say and has ruled the statute unconstitutional. Specifically, the Court found that the statute was overbroad because it could apply widely, not just to places with stripping and nude dancing, but to anyplace that has a liquor license and wants to put on a concert or performance which someone interprets as “lewd.”

Ultimately, the problem boils down to one simple fact - the law offers no definition of what “lewd entertainment” is. The state tried to argue that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, the governmental entity in charge of enforcing the statute, had no intention of ever enforcing the law against “legitimate” performances. But the Court said that just didn’t matter - intentions don’t actually define the scope or limits of the law because it still could be applied more broadly, and the possibility of such widespread enforcement “creates a chilling effect.” Similarly, while Pennsylvania courts have typically interpreted “lewd entertainment” to mean “fully exposed breasts, genital exposure, or genital touching,” these aren’t limitations that are actually in the law, so there is every possibility that the PA courts could use a broader interpretation.

One assumes that the Pennsylvania General Assembly will quickly move to enact a new law which provides a narrowing definition of “lewd entertainment” and which clarifies the underlying purpose of the statute, to avoid the negative effects that stem from the dastardly mixture of nude/topless dancing and booze. While awaiting this new law, it would seem that anyplace with a liquor license is now free to have all the topless and nude dancing it wants, but I wouldn’t expect many places to jump on this opportunity.

Well, except for in Philly. The Phillies are mere weeks away from yet again crushing locals’ hopes of a wild card performance, and the Eagles are about to start yet another inevitably soul-shattering season, which means that the locals, now more than ever, need to be able to look at some nekkid while drinking their pains away.

Posted by Seth on August 18, 2006 | Comments (1)