Thanks to Matt Bartle, a Republican state senator from Jackson County, the Missouri legislature voted to outlaw nudity and booze at the state's strip clubs in 2010. (Bartle actually sponsored the same bill seven years in a row before it finally passed this year.) Under the new laws, clubs can't sponsor nude dancing, can't serve alcohol and can't allow performers to get within six feet of patrons. Zoning restrictions for sex-oriented businesses, meanwhile, are as onerous as the ones placed on sex offenders: Clubs may not locate within 1,000 feet of homes, schools, churches, parks or even libraries. Naturally, with restrictions like that, clubs quickly began closing across the state, but Bartle chose to play dumb. "I never believed these businesses would shut down," Bartle told the Kansas City Star. Oh really? Strip-club owners say they repeatedly tried to meet with Bartle while the bill was being drafted, but Bartle refused. One club owner told the Pitch, "Being politically motivated is one thing, but now I think he's just a vindictive son of a bitch." We couldn't agree more.
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