Florida’s attorney general and two prosecutors are being sued by a 19-year- old and the club where she was employed as a stripper. This is because of a new state law that bans adult entertainment businesses from hiring people who are under 21. The plaintiffs have cited that it violates their constitutional rights.
Serenity Bushey says that she lost her job at Cafe Risque, in the Gainesville vicinity, after the law went into effect on Monday. This is because she is younger than 21. The aim of the law was to deter human trafficking, lawmakers in Florida have said.
The lawsuit is seeking a permanent injunction, prohibiting the law from being enforced, saying that it violates their First Amendment right to free speech and Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection.
Not only Bushey, but eight other adult performers who are older than 18 but younger than 21 cannot work at Cafe Risque because of the new law.
“As with similar performers around the state, Bushey earned her living through her art while providing entertainment for the benefit and enjoyment of her audience. Plaintiffs have a clear legal right to engage in protected speech of this nature,” the lawsuit notes.
The new state law also bans employing cooks, DJs, waitresses, and security guards who are older than 18, but younger than 21, or even use employees in their age group from third-party contractors employeed to perform duties like air-conditioning repairs or carpentry, the lawsuit added.
The Office of the Attorney General stated they haven’t been served with the lawsuit but will be ready to defend the new law when they do.
