A 19-year-old has sued the state of Florida over a recently-passed law requiring that strippers be at least 21 to work in the adult industry.
According to Noticias Telemundo, Serenity Michelle Bushey said the law violates her right to freedom of expression. Her suit claims that the lack of "acquired rights clause" has forced companies to fire anyone under the age threshold, Bushey included.
"Besides her, at least eight other artists who were over 18 but under 21 can't perform at Café Risque due to law HB 7063," which went into effect on Monday, seeks to prevent human trafficking, the suit added.
"The accusers say the human body is an object of beauty which, combined with music and rhythmical dance, conveys a message of erotism." Adult bookstores, theaters, special cabarets and unlicensed massage establishments also fall under the definition of adult entertainment establishments.
The law also requires Florida rest areas, massage parlors and other places where human trafficking could occur to display awareness signs with numbers to hotlines. It will increase punishments for those who fail to do so.
Governor DeSantis' enactment stems from a bill approved earlier in March. The bill, CS/CS/CS/SB 796: Anti-Human Trafficking, released by the state Senate, not only prohibits anyone under 21 from working in an "adult entertainment establishment," such as a strip club, adult bookstore, or sex shop, but it also mandates that clubs include data to report human trafficking suspicions.
"This legislation will help better protect the most vulnerable in our communities, it will ensure that if businesses are not complying with these very modest, reasonable requirements, whether knowingly or unknowingly, they will be held accountable," DeSantis said. "And of course, anybody actively involved in human trafficking will have the book thrown at them in the state of Florida."
The governor added that he will allocate almost $5 million of the state budget to help fight human trafficking and a $900,000 grant program to enhance law enforcement training and staffing for these purposes. The law is set to go into effect on July 1.
Kylie Mason, the attorney general's director of communications, told The Associated Press authorities stand by the law.
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