EDITORIAL: Family matters, but does a topless bar?

When you get down to the bare facts, could a topless bar really strip Destin of its family-friendly designation?

After charter boat owner and Atlanta area strip club manager Terry Stephenson proposed converting the Oasis at Mountain Drive into a strip club, one of the chief arguments against it was that Destin is far too family friendly for such an establishment.

Southern Living’s recent ranking of Destin as the No. 3 family-friendly destination in the South seems to bear that out … or does it?
The Log checked with the newspapers in cities that also made the top five, and this is what we learned.

In the No. 1 Orlando, newspaper editors were stretched too thin to answer our questions, but a simple Google search of Orlando reveals that there are more Daisy Dukes than Daisy Ducks.

In No. 2 Myrtle Beach, an editorial assistant estimated they have about a dozen strip clubs right next to the tattoo parlors.  “We have a church on every corner and a strip club on every other corner,” she quipped.

A newspaper editor at the No. 4 location of Gulf Shores/Orange Beach said zoning ordinances keep such establishments out and that the nearest adult establishment is in Pensacola or Mobile.

“Clothing optional” is also not an option at bars In No. 5 Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The nearest nudie bar is a solid hour’s drive to Knoxville. A managing editor at the Gatlinburg area newspaper said, however, that two adult-oriented shops have managed to work their way in after a court battle over zoning.

Now we at The Log have already made clear our objection to the Oasis’ proposed project in the middle of a harbor redevelopment district.
But perhaps there is more to a family-friendly designation than whether a strip club lies in the city limits.

Perhaps a better indicator of a city’s family friendliness can be seen in its library. Ours just hosted a phenomenally successful event that drew Guitar Heroes and their families from across the city.

Or in its condos, which bend over backward to provide programs for kids at an affordable price for Mom and Dad.

But most of all, perhaps the true measure of a family-friendly destination is found in the character of each one of us, upon whom it is beholden to greet tourists as though they are long-lost friends.