Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Regulating Sex Businesses

Sex is big business, and the Internet is making it bigger. This report is a practical guide to the regulation of lawful sex businesses and businesses handling significant quantities of sexually oriented materials. Such businesses include: adult cabarets and other establishments with sexually oriented live entertainment; adult movie theaters; adult book stores; adult video stores; sex shops; peep shows, often called video arcades; mainstream video stores with back rooms with sexually oriented material; newsstands with back rooms of sexually oriented materials; and more. The report examines what constitutes a lawful sex business; First Amendment issues related to the regulation of sexually oriented businesses; land-use issues and adult uses; and operating issues related to sex businesses. Finally, the report suggests ways to structure an effective regulatory program, providing a checklist so that local communities can build an ordinance to suit their particular circumstances.