Houston's Strip Clubs Hit by New 'Pole Tax'

[seabeyond]

The City Council passed an ordinance Wednesday that requires strip clubs to pay a $5-per-visitor fee to help pay for the analysis of biological evidence collected from rape victims in hopes of identifying their attackers. Police in Houston, and in many other parts of the U.S., lack the money to promptly analyze evidence such as hair particles and blood specimens, gathered by investigators in packets known as rape kits. Houston estimates it has 6,000 rape kits that have yet to be scrutinized by crime laboratories.

Supporters of the ordinance, which was supported by Mayor Annise Parker and approved on a 14-1 vote, contend that strip clubs should shoulder some of the costs of rape investigations because the establishments can cultivate unhealthy attitudes toward women that can lead to sexual assaults. "There are negative secondary effects associated with adult-entertainment establishments," said Ellen Cohen, the council member who championed the ordinance, which could generate up to $3 million in annual revenue.

*

The Texas legislature last year passed a law requiring police departments to report rape evidence backlogs to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which has so far tallied 15,000 untested kits—a number expected to grow as more departments file their reports. Nationally, the backlog has reached about 400,000, according to a federal bill introduced in Congress last month that would provide greater funding for the testing of kits. Of the 6,000 Houston kits, police don't believe they all would yield useful evidence. In some cases, for example, the victim has decided not to press charges.

*

The Texas Supreme Court last year rejected a claim that the state fee, sponsored by Ms. Cohen as a state lawmaker, violates free-speech rights by infringing on a mode of expression: sexually suggestive dancing. Victoria Camp, Deputy Director of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, said no one in her field believes that "if you walk into a strip club you become a rapist." Still, she said, "the environment that goes on at strip clubs fosters a culture that is more tolerant, at the very least, of sexual violence."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304830704577492890714972590.html?mod=whats_now&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

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reading the title i thought this a tax on the gals strippin and had all kinds of wtf. it isnt.

[sufrommich]

1. What are untested kits? Does that mean rape kits

that have been used but not tested for DNA samples? Anybody know what they test for besides DNA?

[seabeyond]

2. this is talking about rape kits.

seems to be about dna. found nowhere where they test for stds but on would think they would do that also



What is a "rape kit?"

The sexual assault forensic exam kit (commonly referred to as a “rape kit”) is the collection of DNA and other forensic evidence, which is then kept by the SANE or medical provider until picked up by law enforcement or the crime lab. It is then stored until the victim determines whether or not to pursue a case. The kit itself is generally a large envelope or cardboard box, which can safely store evidence collected from your body or clothing. While the contents of a sexual assault forensic exam may vary by state and jurisdiction, it may include items, such as:

Instructions
Bags and sheets for evidence collection
Swabs
Comb
Envelopes for hair and fibers
Blood collection devices
Documentation forms
Under the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, states may not

“require a victim of sexual assault to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law enforcement in order to be provided with a forensic medical exam, reimbursement for charges incurred on account of such an exam, or both.”

Under this law, a state must ensure that victims have access to an exam free of charge or with a full reimbursement, even if the victim decides not to cooperate with law enforcement investigators. (Previously, states were required to ensure access to exams free of charge, but could put conditions on the exam, such as cooperating with law enforcement officials.)2

http://www.rainn.org/get-information/aftermath-of-sexual-assault/preserving-and-collecting-forensic-evidence

[redqueen]

3. Yes, untested rape kits.

This seems like a fair idea to me.

[seabeyond]

4. i am thinkin.... not a bad idea

i had all kinds of argument in the wrong charging strippers, and was how i read the title. but, when seeing it was a charge to get in the door, a meh.... works for me.

[sufrommich]

5. 400,000 untested rape kits in the U.S., aren't they

necessary for a trial? Does that mean that 400,000 rapes haven't gone to trial?

[seabeyond]

6. yup

that is why i call the rape numbers we are given as bullshit. and these are only the girls/women ... people brave enough to take the first step.

[redqueen]

7. I doubt it.

Based on the statement that in some cases the woman declined to press charges after the exam. So yes, in that case it is technically true that it didn't go to trial, but it didn't even get anywhere, so... It's a big mudd,y picture.


Somewhat related... wanted to post this yesterday.

http://stfufauxminists.tumblr.com/post/26028881165/society-has-allowed-rapists-to-define-what

[seabeyond]

8. so true.... “No.. Lets stop.. I don’t want to right now..” etc

Society has allowed rapists to define what resistance is: screaming, crying, scratching, pushing, kicking, biting, punching. I didn’t resist like that. My resistance was to wriggle a bit, turn my head away when he tried to kiss me, try to stop his hand going into my bra and knickers, push him ineffectually, talk about wanting to get my cab; all things which normal men recognise as not being enthusiastic participation when they are engaging with women but pretend it’s a grey area when they talk about rape. Rapists have managed to get society to believe, that what I did, was consent.

Because I didn’t resist in the way rapists - and society - say that women should resist, they define our non-participation as consent.

—
A section of the article “How I became a rape victim”

(via sociolab)

BOOM, rape culture at work… Can I also add, when you are in a situation that involves rape or you think might involve rape or looks like it might involve rape in a few minutes, its usually pretty scary to scream and kick… Especially if you know this person and sometimes might even care about them and think they care about you too. It is much more likely that you’ll say “No.. Lets stop.. I don’t want to right now..” etc

____________________

and i know it said not pressing charges. there are also forces that are downgrading and not investigating. there are reason, and nonreasons these kits sit on the shelf. just wanted to clarify

[Mosby]

9. liberals and progressives should not support regressive tax schemes

[seabeyond]

10. i see it more as a progressive tax incentive. nt

[Mosby]

11. Did you know that Texas does not collect income taxes?

Just imagine how many 10s of millions of dollars the state of Texas could collect with a moderate income tax. But the conservatives in Texas will never allow that, this new tax brings them just a little bit closer to their ideal tax system, one that taxes consumption and sales. That way low income and poor people will continue to pay an over-sized share of tax so the wealthy and upper middle class don't have to. It's a win-win (you know for Texas politicians and wealthy folks, the rest of us don't really count for shit).

[seabeyond]

12. I Live in Texas

You know our property tax are significantly higher than elsewhere. and where is the rest different from most of the u.s.

[redqueen]

13. Oh woesy woe woe...

an extra $5 ... the price of a drink .... let me get my violin.

[TorchTheWitch]

14. and the clubs pinch it all back from the dancers

PA clubs were already swiping it from the dancers at least a year before the law was even passed. We already pay all the support staff so the clubs don't have to, so what's yet another "fee" just to work on top of the pile?

[seabeyond]

15. i hadnt thought of that. and of course they would

i knew about the other issues. this would be a real duh...

now i am all , too

[TorchTheWitch]

16. In PA they clubs are swiping it at both ends - they collect it from the customer

and ALSO charge the dancers. As far as I recall the law in PA makes the club charge each customer $5 on top of the regular door charge for the pole tax, so they do get the money from them. But they ALSO charge each dancer the same amount, so not only are they not losing any money (they wouldn't have anyway since it was an extra charge to the customer that the club just didn't get to keep but has to give to the government), but they also make out on the deal because of also charging all the dancers... and a lot of the time these days there are more dancers on a shift then there are customers. And the greedy bastards were already charging the dancers over a year before the law went into effect (or even passed... but everyone knew it was going to pass in the end).

Since the law puts the charge on the customers, and the club is only acting as the agent in collecting it and passing it on to the government, they aren't losing a single damn dime. But of course, they looked at it as yet another money making scheme out of the the hides of the dancers, so they actually MAKE money because of the law. ANd they were making over a year before the law even went into effect. Fucking greedy scumbags.

They already charge us a house fee per shift AND take a cut of our sales. I don't mind either/or, but BOTH is despicable double charging. They also don't have to pay support staff because WE have to pay them mandatory set amounts whether we use their services or not. At some clubs you can end up paying hundreds of dollars in fees just for the "privilege" of working for four or five hours. Sometimes it does happen that you leave work in the negative than when you started your shift. Insanity. I've never yet left a shift in the negative unless I had to leave really early because of illness or injury, but a couple of times I have left a full shift only breaking even or with only a few dollars for a gallon of gas to get home and a pack of chewing gum. Woohoo, what a payday. NOT.

Still, the better days somehow make up for all the losses... but those days get fewer and farther between completely aside from what it is we actually have to put up with at work. It really chaps my ass though to think about all the money I COULD have made were it not for the greedy clubs. Fucking. Greedy. Scumbags.

[sufrommich]

17. "Sometimes it does happen that you leave work in the negative

than when you started your shift."

Sounds like the dancers need a union,has anyone ever tried to organize?