FRANKFORT, KY — The citizens of Louisville can take a deep sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that the men and women who enter their strip clubs will no longer be at risk of seeing an entirely naked woman or, worse yet, being touched by her.Thanks to a 2000 McCracken Fiscal Court ordinance upheld yesterday, neither dancers, who must wear at least a g-string and pasties, nor club employees, who presumably can wear whatever is appropriate for their job, are allowed to have any physical contact with club patrons.

Violators of the ordinance face a maximum $500 fine and time in jail.

Edward Green Jameson’s Paducah, KY club, Regina’s II, was cited for violating the ordinance and decided to challenge it in court. Unfortunately for him, his dancers, his employees, and anyone who might like a hug, a handshake, or a lap dance, the state Supreme Court upheld lower court rulings in support of the ordinance.

Before doing that, however, it sent the case back for a hearing, with the goal of learning how it genuinely promotes the goal of reducing alleged negative effects said to be associated with exotic dance clubs.

A unanimous 49-page opinion in support of the McCracken ordinance concluded that it “furthers the county’s substantial governmental interest in preventing and combating the negative secondary effects associated with sexually oriented businesses.” So the bikinis stay on and the gap between patron and dancer remains, because the Court’s decision included the provocative claim that it is not the government’s job to prove that such secondary effects exist, but the clubs’ job to prove that such prohibitive laws are ineffective.

Although the Kentucky Court of Appeals ordered that a similar ordinance passed by the Louisville Metro Council in 2004 not be enforced, the state Supreme Court decision has removed that restriction and so from now on, dancers will be required by law to keep six feet between them and their customers during performances. Both McCracken and Louisville clubs must close at 1:00am, before the non-strip club bars pour their patrons onto the various city streets.

Jefferson County attorney Irv Maze contends that “This tightens the noose; it removes a major obstacle that had been in our path.” Nonetheless, the Courier-Journal also reports that Maze will consult with his staff and various officials before deciding whether to enforce the ordinance.

Frank Mascagni, an attorney representing Jefferson County strip clubs, admitted that the ruling “hurts us,” but also insists that “it ain’t over yet,” and proposed that waiting for three new justices to be seated next year before reintroducing the case might be the next step. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll strongly consider asking the U.S. Supreme Court,” he added.

According to private attorney David Kelly, who represented McCracken County, the court decision was “a significant victory — particularly for small communities across the state, because it reaffirms a standard tht communities don’t have to commission their own studies and hire their own experts to enact ordinances to regulate the adverse secondary effects caused by these type of businesses.”

Whether or not they exist.