Dallas City Counsel Sets a 2am Closing Time

The Dallas, City Council voted unanimously to set a 2am closing time for sexually oriented businesses, including strip clubs, cabarets, and adult book stores. The ordinance was supported by ​​the Dallas Police Department as a “crime fighting measure.” This curfew for adults is just the latest example of the way that local laws marginalize sex workers, who often make the majority of their money between 2 and 6am.

Protestors, many of whom were women of color, mobilized at City Hall during the counsel meeting, brandishing signs reading, “Single moms need to work, we have families too.” Many workers benefit from lucrative late night shifts including single parents, familial caregivers, and people who go to school during the day or work multiple jobs.

The Dallas City Council and other local policy makers should listen to the people who are affected by such ordinances, and workers should have a say in the regulations that affect their livelihood. A group of Dallas strip clubs have already filed a lawsuit against the city, citing First and Fourteenth amendment rights.