On Monday, Jan. 27 the City Council held a special workshop discussing, among other things, the regulation of adult entertainment. Drag Shows have been a hot button topic for our community for the last several years. I have spoken with nearly 2,000 Bartians in the past 5 months, and opinions on this topic are diverse and passionate. Regardless of where each of us stands on this issue, here are the things nearly every single person has agreed with:

We all want:

• Free Speech

• Individual rights and liberties

• The right to raise our kids in line with our own values

• Bartlesville to thrive

• People to be safe, even when we disagree strongly

• Our kids to be healthy

Admittedly, the last point is subjective. What is “healthy,” and who gets to decide? Almost always, the answer to that question is “the child’s parents.” There are some obvious exceptions, though: child abuse and neglect immediately come to mind. Additionally, we regularly limit people’s behavior when their actions move outside of the single family unit and begin affecting other people’s children. For instance, youth sports complexes have “no smoking/no alcohol” policies. In those instances, behaviors are curtailed because the government or event organizers have decided the behavior is harmful for kids, even if individual parents don’t mind.

Things get stickier when free speech is involved. We are all blessed to have 1st Amendment rights to free speech, and the government can almost never limit people’s speech - especially in public forums. None of us want that to change. One of the very few times the government CAN limit speech in such places is, again, when that speech is linked to negative health outcomes for children. This is why we don’t see cigarette advertisement billboards anymore.

The goal of this draft ordinance is to consider whether we can and/or should create a process to evaluate children’s health outcomes regarding outdoor performances and events in our public spaces. The ordinance is written with an aim to:

• Create a fair and transparent process we can all trust, even when it’s our event being scrutinized

• Ensure all decisions are based on evidence and not emotion

• Bring experts into the process

• Remove the influence of public pressure

• Require the heavy burden of proof to be on anyone who would suggest we limit speech

• Ensure that all people, events, and performances are treated equally

One last thought: I was an umpire for over a decade. Umpires exist because in the midst of intense competition, we don’t trust parents and coaches to make fair calls. When the stakes are high, we need dispassionate experts doing their best to keep the game fair. This is true of any emotionally charged disagreement. My proposed process and the corresponding oversight committee are intended to be the umpires. It’s an uncomfortable position, but umpires allow all the invested parties to know that we are pursuing fairness, the best experience for the children, and, as often as possible, the right call will be made.

I hope this ordinance will do the same thing.

If you read the draft, whether you agree with it or not, I hope you will let me know WHY. I promise to read every email I receive about the ordinance. I promise to actually consider every “why.”

Thank you in advance for your feedback!