DuPage outlaws BYOB at adult businesses

By James Kimberly
Tribune reporter
February 13, 2009

Responding to a fatal car wreck involving a driver who drank too much while visiting a strip club near DuPage Airport, the DuPage County Board has strengthened restrictions on adult businesses that allow patrons to drink. Under an ordinance passed this week, anyone with an open alcoholic beverage in an adult business or any employees who lets someone drink at an adult business would be subject to a fine of $1,000 or more.Although County Board members said no specific business was targeted, board member James Zay of Carol Stream said the only adult businesses in the county are Diamonds Gentlemen's Club near West Chicago and Zebulon adult bookstore near Roselle."It's not about the 1st Amendment right to be a strip club. It's that they are bringing liquor in there and they don't have a liquor license," said Zay, who spearheaded the push for the new ordinance, which will take effect in 30 days.

Zay proposed the law after a drunken patron left Diamonds on Jan. 4, 2006, and crashed head-on into another car, killing his passenger and the driver of the other car, April Simmons, who was pregnant with her first child. John Homatas, 27, of Wayne was sentenced to 12 years in prison for aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol.Zay said when Simmons' husband sued Diamonds over the crash, the attorney for the strip club argued the club was not liable because it had not served alcohol to Homatas. A Kane County judge rejected the argument, and Zay said he wanted to make sure it was not raised in another case."We are going to make sure we protect people who are out there, not only people who are going there but people who might be driving by," Zay said.

Store Showing XXX Movies

Lawsuit Alleges Store Is Unlicensed Adult Business
Friday, 13 Feb 2009

ISIAH CAREY

HOUSTON - A major battle is brewing at the Harris County Civil Courthouse. The city of Houston wants to shut down what they call a sexually oriented business operating illegally and without license.

Tryst Boutique sits just off the North Freeway just before the beltway, and what goes on inside has the city of Houston trying to shut it down. “This is an adult arcade operating illegally and the city is asking the court to close it and shut it down," Assistant City Attorney Thomas Sultan said.
Houston investigators say triple x movies are shown in 28 small dark booths at the business. Attorneys for the city say the company doesn't have an adult arcade permit to operate and therefore they're breaking the law.

The city ultimately wants to shut down the entire business but for now they're going after the arcade or video booths inside. The fate of the full operation will be decided at a trial in June.
The owner of Tryst, William Becker, was in court. They brought along samples of what's sold in the store and shown in the arcade to prove the store is not all adult.

"Initially, they were in adult business, and they made a business decision that they were gonna change the focus to be more of a store for lovers than an adult business," the store’s spokesman Richard Kuniansky said.

The owners of Tryst said because more than 50 percent of their merchandise is not consider pornographic, and more than 50 percent of the movies shown are not adult they shouldn't be required to get a permit.

A judge will likely make a decision on the injunction to temporary close Tryst next week.

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Deputy U.S. Attorney General Nominee Has Adult Ties

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MySpace Hands Over Names of 90,000 Sex Offenders

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