A 19-year-old nude dancer who lost her job due to age restrictions in Florida’s new law on human trafficking is suing the attorney general and other state officials, alleging that the law violates her constitutional right to free expression.
Plaintiffs Serenity Michelle Bushey, the Café Risque in Alachua County and the retail company Exotic Fantasies Inc. filed the federal lawsuit July 1 in the Northern District of Florida. The complaint challenges House Bill 7063 as a violation of the First and 14th Amendments over a provision that prohibits adult entertainment establishments from hiring performers under the age of 21 who are at least 18.
“Plaintiffs believe that providing this form of expressive communication to the public is a beneficial social activity which enhances individuals’ conscious ability to assimilate and consider various issues involving sexual candor and the interest in human sexuality that all human beings have to a greater or lesser degree,” the lawsuit states.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 7063 in May. The law characterizes human trafficking as “modern-day slavery” that involves transporting, recruiting or procuring another person for exploitive purposes.
But the plaintiffs’ attorney, Gary Edinger, said few comprehensive studies are available on human trafficking and that information from advocacy groups suggests that most trafficking victims are targeted when underage, with the average age for victimization being 17. In addition, strip clubs are involved in only 1% or less of such cases, Edinger said in an email to the Florida Record.
“The internet is the overwhelming point of contact between traffickers and victims,” he said. “The most common locus of the crime is hotels.”
During similar litigation that is now before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, a trial court concluded that there has never been a human trafficking arrest in Jacksonville at any of that city’s adult entertainment venues.
And even though the law includes adult retail stores where there is no entertainment or performances, no published studies exist showing a connection between such retail outlets and trafficking, according to Edinger.
“Indeed, it is difficult to see how that could even come about in a business where customers simply come in, buy a product and then leave,” he said.
But the central argument in the lawsuit is that the First Amendment protects exotic dancing in addition to adult books and videos.
“The state cannot infringe upon those rights simply because it thinks that it is a good idea to do so, or that the public interest would be served or that the speech is controversial or even merely undeserving of protection,” Edinger said.
The new law makes it a felony for those between the ages of 18 and 21 to be hired by adult entertainment companies. Those targeted by the statute are engaged in speech and not human trafficking, he said.
“Notably, the law does not make it a crime to engage in trafficking, does not increase the penalties for trafficking or do anything else that would inconvenience an individual actually involved in trafficking,” Edinger said.
The lawsuit urges the court to find that the new law violates the due process clause of the 14th Amendment because it imposes criminal penalties without requiring proof of a guilty mindset, seeks an injunction against state officials from enforcing section 730.30(4) and calls for the reimbursement of reasonable attorney fees.