Stripping ban in Iceland, club owners to sue

Indo-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

LONDON - Club owners in Iceland are looking at legal recourse following legislation banning stripping in clubs and bars in the north Atlantic nation.

The legislation presented by a member of the opposition demanding a ban on stripping in bars and clubs was passed March 23. This has invited sharp reactions from strip club owners who are looking into whether they can sue the state for compensation.

\”I have reached the age where I\’m not sure whether I want to bother with this hassle anymore. I would be relieved if they just paid me compensation and I would quit,\” Ásgeir Davídsson, who runs the strip club Goldfinger in Kópavogur was quoted as saying by Iceland Review.

Davídsson said the legislation reminds him of regulations in countries where hardly any part of a woman\’s body can be seen in public. He said Iceland is the first European country, that lies northwest of the United Kingdom, to ban stripping.

Siv Fridleifsdótttir of the Progressive Party, the bill\’s first presenter, however, said she was not sure about this. \”But we showed consideration while passing the legislation by allowing the clubs a long time to adjust,\” she said.

The legislation bars clubs from making profit from the nudity of employees and will be in force in the country from July 1, 2010. Thirty-one people voted in its favour while no one voted against it and only two MPs abstained.

\”It is pleasing how fresh the breeze of equality is at Althingi (Iceland\’s parliament) these days,\” Fridleifsdótttir said.

She also said this was a major step towards increased democracy as a legislation presented by a member of the opposition was passed.

Though stripping had been generally banned in Iceland, a few clubs were operating on a legal