Renton church wages war against city's first all-nude club
RENTON, Wash. -- Prayer and the Bible in hand, a local church has waged war against the city's first strip club.
The self-titled "prayer warriors" of the Celebration Church say they're ready to chase sin out of their town. The members filled the city council chambers on Monday, worried about the expected evils of the club.
"None of my boys do I ever want to go to this club," said Ricki Jones.
"You're naive if you don't think that drugs, and prostitution and all of the rest of the crime doesn't go with it," said Mark Jones.
Club Sin Rock is set to open soon at the southwest corner of Interstate 405 and Highway 167, a prime location.
"When I first saw this hit the news, it surprised me in that it seemed to come from nowhere," said Joseph McLean.
The club is in the valley area zoned industrial -- the one spot where an adult-entertainment business can legally open in the city. But it's an area that's changed over the decades with more offices, even day care centers moving in.
"When we allow something like this into our city, we're basically saying women can be objectified; they're pieces of meet to be looked at," said Valerie Dreas.
In response to Club Sin Rock, the city council several weeks ago issued a six-month moratorium against any other strip clubs going up in the city. The city cannot ban strip clubs; however, it can increase restrictions on where and how they operate.
There's plenty of support for that move. But there are still many people who wonder why an earlier ban was not in place to prevent the city's first-ever club from opening.
"It's been going on for a year. They've been pulling permits for a year, and we had no idea," said Celebration Church Pastor David McAlister. "We were caught off-guard. So, yeah, there's a frustration."
So as dozens of dancers are being hired, neighbors pledge that the fight over where they're going to work is just now starting.
"If you put temptation in front of people, it's easier for them to give in to that temptation," said Laurie Palmer.
The self-titled "prayer warriors" of the Celebration Church say they're ready to chase sin out of their town. The members filled the city council chambers on Monday, worried about the expected evils of the club.
"None of my boys do I ever want to go to this club," said Ricki Jones.
"You're naive if you don't think that drugs, and prostitution and all of the rest of the crime doesn't go with it," said Mark Jones.
Club Sin Rock is set to open soon at the southwest corner of Interstate 405 and Highway 167, a prime location.
"When I first saw this hit the news, it surprised me in that it seemed to come from nowhere," said Joseph McLean.
The club is in the valley area zoned industrial -- the one spot where an adult-entertainment business can legally open in the city. But it's an area that's changed over the decades with more offices, even day care centers moving in.
"When we allow something like this into our city, we're basically saying women can be objectified; they're pieces of meet to be looked at," said Valerie Dreas.
In response to Club Sin Rock, the city council several weeks ago issued a six-month moratorium against any other strip clubs going up in the city. The city cannot ban strip clubs; however, it can increase restrictions on where and how they operate.
There's plenty of support for that move. But there are still many people who wonder why an earlier ban was not in place to prevent the city's first-ever club from opening.
"It's been going on for a year. They've been pulling permits for a year, and we had no idea," said Celebration Church Pastor David McAlister. "We were caught off-guard. So, yeah, there's a frustration."
So as dozens of dancers are being hired, neighbors pledge that the fight over where they're going to work is just now starting.
"If you put temptation in front of people, it's easier for them to give in to that temptation," said Laurie Palmer.
Learn about changes coming to commenting