Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Saturday assessing a new tax on strip clubs in the state — one that will help fund sexual-assault prevention programs and provide counseling for victims.
The law will take effect on Jan. 1, and will generate up to $1 million a year for the state’s financially struggling rape crisis centers.
Daniel Weiss, founder of The Brushfires Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring a Christian vision for sexuality, called the new law “a logical fallacy and a confused idea.”
“It publically condones sexual injustice against women to avoid fiscal responsibility,” Weiss told CitizenLink. “I’m not a fan of this type of legislation. I would have expected a greater public awareness of the correlation between sexual exploitation and sexual violence.”
The state’s 33 rape crisis centers have seen their funding drop from $5.8 million in 2009 to $4.6 million in 2012.
Advocates say the tax will help sexual assault victims, and those who work at rape crisis centers.
Weiss disagrees.
“I just really feel that we’re missing the larger context,” Weiss said. “The entire public loses when the government legitimizes this type of legislation.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Read Illinois H.B. 1645.
Print
