In a unanimous decision, the City Council agreed Monday to outlaw full nudity in Scottsdale, as well as impose a new four-foot rule between patrons and dancers at strip clubs in the city.
“We are outraged that [they] have enacted an ordinance that will effectively put our law-abiding and tax-paying cabaret out of business,” Jameson said in an official statement late Tuesday. “They have created unfair and uncompromising rules governing the [clubs].”
In response to the new ordinance, Jameson plans to hire paid petition gatherers to put a referendum on the ballot and file a lawsuit that would argue discrimination against strip clubs in Scottsdale.
To follow the campaign she has launched a website, JennaFightsForFreedom.com, that will chronicle the proposed lawsuit’s progress.
“I believe this would not have become an issue if I hadn't invested in the club,” Jameson said. “The mayor and her council members used my fame to generate publicity that panders to the Religious Right, without regard to the rights of the majority of our citizens who simply want to enjoy adult entertainment.”
Ever since the new regulations were first proposed, Jameson has accused the city of using “a hired gun” to carry out its alleged efforts against her.
In drafting the new regulations, Scottsdale officials have been working with Tennessee lawyer Scott Bergthold, an expert on drafting strip club regulations who has helped several cities enact stricter laws for adult businesses.
Bergthold most recently made headlines for his work with officials in Tampa, Fla., who currently are trying to curb efforts by a club to market a converted bus as a mobile strip club. He heads multiple socially conservative groups, including the Community Defense Council, and has made his entire legal practice defending strip club regulations.
Scottsdale Mayor Mary Munross so far has been quiet on the issue. Two reporters from two separate mainstream publications in the state told XBiz via email that they had consistently “been stonewalled” by the mayor’s office when seeking comment on the “Jameson issue.”
XBiz inquiries met with similar results.
A spokesperson for Jameson said the star could not comment further on the proposed legislation due to “the legal restrains of filing a referendum.”
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