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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – A former New Orleans councilwoman is circulating a petition calling for the city’s planning commission to reduce the number of strip clubs in New Orleans by 65 percent.

Kristin Gisleson Palmer, who served on the City Council from 2010-2014, said in a lengthy Facebook post that the strip club industry is known for a “culture of abuse against young women” who “lack capacity and resources.”

She notes that 25 percent of the residents at Covenant House, a local homeless shelter for teens, were victims of human trafficking and/or sexual labor.

The City Planning Commission has authorized a study on adult live entertainment venues in New Orleans. The study, according to Palmer, will consider limitations on the number of strip clubs, best practices from other cities and other factors.

“We believe that the existing number of strip clubs leads to an increase in overall French Quarter crime including violence, prostitution, lewd/improper acts, petty crime and drug dealing – and therefore does not promote the public health, welfare and safety of the City,” Palmer says in her Facebook post.

Gov. John Bel Edwards just signed a bill into law that raises the minimum age for strippers to 21. New Orleans has a similar ordinance already in place.

Read more about Palmer’s petition here.

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