Florida lawmakers passed a bill on Friday with a vast majority vote preventing strippers under the age of 21 from working in adult entertainment establishments. In a controversial move, the age restriction was attached to a human trafficking bill in the closing hours of the legislative session, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The senators attached the stripper age restriction to the bill (HB 7063), a measure which takes aim to prevent human trafficking. The House took up the amended bill late Friday and proceeded to pass it in a 104-3 vote.
Rep. David Borrero, R-Sweetwater, for the bill, says that sex trafficking is likely to take place in strip clubs, making younger workers an easy target.
“It’s common sense,” argues Borrero. “We ought to be on the side of young girls who are barely legal.”
But Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, disagrees, stating adamantly that lawmakers should not ‘legislate values,’ and that the bill actually induces danger, as young women who would otherwise be working in establishments may end up working more private parties.
“This is just another way for women to be controlled,” says Rayner, who voted for the bill regardless.
Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, Rep. Yvonne Hinson, D-Gainesville and Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville were the three opposing votes in the bill that is set to go to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is likely to approve.
Read the full story from the Tampa Bay Times right here.
