Clarksville Town Council votes to revoke Theatair X's business license

CLARKSVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Theatair X in Clarksville is losing its business license, but there’s a way the adult theater could still keep its doors open.

The Clarksville Town Council voted unanimously Thursday night to revoke the theater's adult business license. But right now, Theatair X is still open for business.

The council's revocation order cited zoning violations previously found by the town's building commissioner, like police arresting several people for performing sex acts inside the theater. Fantasy booths, magazines and XXX movies are all advertised outside Theatair X, but Clarksville police say much more was happening inside.

Some council members say the business has been the source of many complaints over decades.

“When the conversation is brought up, they'll ask, 'How come it's not shut down? Why don’t they do something about it?'” councilwoman Jennifer Voignier said. “Well, now we've stepped up and put our actions into place, and we're doing something about it.”

“We're not talking about content-based challenges to what movies they're showing there. That has nothing to do with this,” town attorney Greg Fifer said. “This is simply, 'Are they upholding the reasonable public health and safety regulations that the town established and expects them to uphold?' And to date, they have not done that on a repeated basis.”

“We don't want this filth in our city,” added Mark Cox, a Clark County resident who has long opposed Theatair X. “It's wrong for businesses to exploit women. It's a sin against God's word. It's a violation.”

Town council members said they didn't vote on morals. Councilman John Gilkey said he voted based on the business breaking the law.

“Our anticipation is (Theatair X) will probably appeal, and it will go to the courts,” Gilkey said.

The law allows Theatair X to immediately appeal, which allows them to stay open.