As I traveled through Wisconsin and several states in the Midwest and the South last week, I kept noticing glossy, seductive billboards on the side of the highway advertising various so-called “gentlemen’s clubs.” The title, “gentlemen’s club,” is nothing more than a politically correct, innocent-sounding misnomer used to disguise the perverse purpose of these entertainment clubs. Since when did true gentlemen frequent these vile places? There is nothing gentlemanly about the men who patronize these establishments. The entire industry is designed to destroy men, demean women and viciously undermine marriage and family.

Consider, for a moment, the strategic placement of those advertisement billboards. Positioned directly in the line of site of highway commuters, they beckon to men and boys, truckers and traveling businessmen, conveniently absent from their wives and children. The prominent, enticing billboards are a charade, a self-satisfied façade for the destructive “gentlemen’s club” industry.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a “gentleman” as “a man whose conduct conforms to a high standard of propriety or correct behavior.” The designation “gentleman” is obviously paradoxical to the business of these clubs. It attempts to imply that the alleged “entertainment” offered is respectable, glamorous and even high-class. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So-called “gentlemen’s clubs” do not offer “harmless adult entertainment.” Adults do not have the right to engage in perversion by virtue of their status as adults. Our society has been brainwashed to believe that we—as children, teenagers or adults—are entitled to an increasingly morbid list of self-styled “rights.” According to this ideology, our personal “rights” are so important that they can trump civic, family and personal responsibility—at any cost.

Sexually-oriented businesses such as these so-called “gentlemen’s clubs,” feed off this ideology—claiming they have some sort of immunity from civic responsibility and the law. In fact, they are a scourge to communities. They lure young women and men by promising them entertainment and fulfillment and instead ensnare them in self-destructive habits that ultimately shatter their lives.

Dancers and patrons of “gentlemen’s clubs” are at high risk for drug and alcohol abuse, STD’s, and involvement in crime. Violent crime rates (especially assault and rape) explode in the geographical areas surrounding sexually-oriented business, driving down economic growth and stability. Families and churches in communities infected by these businesses suffer from the violence and lawlessness inextricably linked to the industry.

Despite their deleterious effect on communities, “gentlemen’s clubs” continue to thrive, even in small communities. Clyman, Wisconsin, a village with barely 400 people, has a thriving “gentlemen’s club.” The small City of Juneau, Wisconsin, has a sizeable gentlemen’s club just one mile down the road from a high school!

How can cities and villages tolerate the catastrophic effects these establishments have on the marriages, families, businesses and institutions in their communities? Yet rarely does a village, a county or a city have an effective sexually-oriented business regulation in place before one of those establishments decides to take up residence in its community. Once the business has firmly ensconced itself in the community, then the citizens raise the alarm and try to institute regulations.

Take the initiative to implement a sexually-oriented business regulation in your community right now. If a sexually-oriented business is already entrenched in your community, however, it is still possible to make sure that an effective ordinance is in place and being enforced. Gather support in the community and work with and through your elected officials.

It is time for true gentlemen and gentlewomen to stop yielding ground to this enemy and start taking back their communities. We cannot allow this perversion to continue to invade our communities and carry off our young men and women. The so-called “gentlemen’s club” industry is a direct attack on God’s design for marriage and family and it must be stopped. It is our responsibility to God and to our families to contend for the souls of those who have been ruined by this industry and to fight to restore the integrity of our communities.

For Wisconsin Family Council, I’m Julaine Appling, reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.