By Jennifer Edwards
and Marie McCain
The Cincinnati Enquirer

UNION TOWNSHIP - Ray Wissel doesn't understand what all the fuss is about.

The retired produce buyer from Hyde Park sits by himself, sipping a Coke, as more than two dozen naked women pass by him gyrating to music ranging from AC/DC to Mariah Carey.

The 48-year-old man's face lights up when "Savannah" suggestively bends, spins and then slides down a pole before fewer than a dozen patrons at Deję Vu in Clermont County Thursday night.

"I'm glad (the club is) here. There should always be excitement as long as there isn't anything above and beyond," Wissel says.

A few years ago, protesters lined both sides of the street to try to stop people from entering the strip club. But now, the fight over such clubs has moved from the streets to the courts, and could soon land in the laps of the General Assembly.

Last month, in a ruling watched closely by other Tristate suburbs concerned about sexually oriented businesses, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Deję Vu by striking down Union Township restrictions in the latest round of a three-year legal battle.

Union Township passed rules requiring the owners to obtain a license, limited the club's hours and gave police broad authority to inspect the premises for possible health and safety violations.

Now, the anti-pornography group Citizens for Community Values is scrambling to draft legislation for stronger regulations.

The group contends jurisdictions have a right to regulate sexually oriented businesses. They want to add "prompt judicial review" to Ohio law governing these establishments.

Without that language, laws are being struck down, says CCV President Phil Burress, adding that the clause would speed these disputes through courts. Once the issue of prompt judicial review is resolved, CCV will push for statewide licensing and hours of operation and other regulations for such businesses, Burress said.

"This blew the top off the mountain and we are drafting legislation right now," Burress said of the Union Township case. "It revealed a serious problem and a loophole in Ohio law. We're trying to close the loophole."

But Lou Sirkin, Deję Vu's attorney, questions his reasoning.

"They want to shut us down before we even get started in the journey of neutrality," he said. "It's ultimately costing these governmental entities a lot of money for what? What are they really getting back in tax dollars?"

Deję Vu's lengthy fight

Union Township officials contend the regulations were necessary, fearing adult businesses bring crime to the community.

Deję Vu's attorneys argued that the rules restricted free speech and unfairly applied only to adult businesses. They said the appeals court's decision shows that licensing rules that single out adult businesses are fundamentally flawed.

But the 6th Circuit's decision goes further than an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith, who ruled more than a year ago that portions of the township's law were unconstitutional.

In a 2-1 vote, the panel of appellate judges ruled that Union Township's law did not allow for prompt judicial review should the township reject a business owner's application for a license.

The ruling, Burress said, made it "nearly impossible" for jurisdictions to pass laws that regulate sexually oriented businesses. Until the prompt judicial review is added to Ohio law, communities will have to wait before tightening restrictions.

Union Township officials and the Ohio Attorney General's Office have requested a second hearing before the full court - all 12 seated judges in the 6th Circuit.

In Butler County's fast-growing Liberty Township, officials are forming a district for adult businesses.

"Once they get up and operating it's very tough to shut them down," said Barry Tiffany, Liberty Township's acting administrator. "If it's someone who has money, they could tie it up in the courts forever."

West Chester leaders want to make it tougher to open and operate a sexually oriented business, so they are tightening zoning codes and are looking into licensing and other regulations.

Now, adult businesses are allowed in the township if they receive permits in areas already zoned for general business. But the new requirements restrict them to West Chester's warehouse district south of Port Union Road and Ohio 747.

They also must comply with a 500-foot setback requirement from sensitive areas such as schools and churches.

The proposed changes will be introduced at tonight's 6:30 p.m. zoning commission meeting. Trustees will vote on them in July, along with the new licensing rules.

West Chester has at least four sexually oriented businesses - two stores that sell various items, a gas station that sells adult magazines and one video store, Burress said.

In Clermont County, the village of Bethel will hold a public hearing June 5 on proposed regulations even though the village has no sexually oriented businesses. Vice Mayor Walter Carter said the village should have rules in place just in case.

Bad for community?

Union Township Trustee Art Wiedenbein maintains Deję Vu has been bad for the community, saying a "white-tablecloth supper club" would have been a better fit

But Wissel disagrees. He treks from Hyde Park to Union Township because, he says, there aren't many other places to go for live nude girls and shows like "Salsa Wrestling" and "1000s of Beautiful Girls and 3 Ugly Ones!"

The dancers throw seductive looks at him, slowly peeling off their bikinis, thongs and mini-halter dresses. At the end of each song, they scoop up the cash laid before their high-heeled feet.

Some of the girls sashay over to chat with the generous tippers or give private "couch dances" in circular booths along back walls.

But Wissel doesn't stay too long or tip the dancers much, if at all. He says other men spend $50 to $75.

"I'd be in divorce court if I did that," he says.

"Clean" clubs like Deję Vu bring people and dollars, he says. He doesn't apologize for his presence even though he admits he wouldn't want one of his four grown daughters working in this kind of business.

"I've done it all my life. I've been married for 30 years. My wife knows I come here. She tolerates it," he says. "She doesn't really like it, but she knows I have a big thing for women."

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com; mmccain@enquirer.com