Feeding lust for a good cause...

After Jim's outstanding, uplifting blogs from Guatemala, I hate to bring the room down. But as a member of the diocesan task force on pornography/sex addiction, I could not turn away from this story in today's Dallas Morning News.

In Dallas, lawmakers are trying to highlight the link between "adult entertainment" (read: pornography and strippers) and sexual assault. That's a good thing. How are they doing it, you ask? By trying to pass a law that would force strip clubs to charge at least a $5 cover charge, with those $5 going to fund programs focused on sexual assault prevention, counseling and treatment.

I guess banning strip clubs completely is too much to ask for, especially since "adult entertainment" is seen as a right that is protected by our courts. Maybe this fee will ultimately hurt business. One can only hope. But to say you can go to strip clubs and feed your lust to help fund programs that address the very problems that lust leads to is so messed up... where do you start?

Here's a sad quote from someone defending strip clubs. It boggles me how women can defend the very industry that is all about exploiting them.

"To say there's a link between sexual assault and gentlemen's clubs is ludicrous," said Angelina Spencer, the executive director for the Association of Club Executives. "These taxes are a ruse to burden the club owner because somebody finds the business morally reprehensible. There is no evidence that links an increase in sexual assaults among women to adult entertainment clubs."