Minneapolis is considering legalizing and regulating adult bathhouses in the city, a controversial proposal that has drawn criticism from some people online. These venues traditionally allow consenting adults to engage in “intimate encounters”, which some people in Minnesota viewed negatively.
Reports indicate that the Minneapolis City Council is preparing to create a licensing framework, update zoning regulations, and add exceptions to its indecency laws, which could once again allow these venues to operate legally in the city.
The last bathhouse to operate legally in Minneapolis closed in 1988, as these venues were hit hard during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. While Minneapolis currently does not have adult bathhouses, other Minnesota cities, such as Duluth and St. Paul, already allow them.
In an interview with The Minnesota Star Tribune, council member Jason Chavez defended bathhouses as “LGBTQIA+ gathering spaces,” criticizing how they have been targeted by criminalization policies in recent decades.
Internet Reacts to Minneapolis’ Plans to Legalize Adult Bathhouses
The proposal quickly drew opposition online, as many social media users disagreed with it. “The people on the City Council in Minneapolis are officially [expletive] crazy,” one person wrote.
Most of the complaints were rooted in a moral framework that rejects the existence of these venues. A former Minneapolis resident, for example, lamented that “the city was safe, beautiful, and congenial to all in the 90s. Now, the unsafe city is upping the ante into Sin City.” Others added, “I feel for the kids growing up around this freak show.”
There were also concerns about whether this could affect local public health. One concerned user said, “I guess we will soon see an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases in Minneapolis.”
Obviously, some other users felt the outrage was completely out of proportion. “Y’all know there are other places in the US where bathhouses are already legal, right? They even have them in DC,” one user wrote. Another person said, “This is like the least concerning story I’ve seen out of Minnesota in years,” likely alluding to the troubles related to ICE in the city earlier this year.
It remains to be seen whether adult bathhouses will once again open in Minneapolis. In any case, the debate is certain to remain heated for some time to come.
