During the consideration of the Evans amendment, hostile amendments by Councilmembers Brazil and Orange were defeated by margins of 10-3 and 11-2, respectively. The Evans compromise amendment passed by a vote of 11 to 2. In short, we won this "clarification" amendment by a wider margin that we won on the issue on Dec. 19. Specifically, we picked up Kevin Chavous' vote. He said that Jack's amendment addressed his concerns.

Terms of the Evans compromise amendment:

The compromise amendment agreed to by GLAA on January 18 and passed on January 23 keeps the moratorium on new nude dancing licenses (so there can be no additional such licenses) and clarifies the grandfathering of existing establishments. Specifically:

• ABC-licensed nude dancing establishments can sell their licenses to others, subject to the existing provisions in the bill governing who is fit for such a license, and subject to ABC Board approval.

• Such licensees can also move their establishment (subject to all the provisions in the bill, including appropriateness, and to ABC Board approval) to a location within the Central Business District or, if they are presently in a CM or M zoned area (a manufacturing or "warehouse" district), they can relocate elsewhere within that CM or M district. (Allowing relocation within a warehouse district was an imaginative and welcome addition by Evans to the terms agreed upon on January 18.)

• No such establishment can locate within 600 feet of another such establishment.

• No such establishment can locate within 600 feet of a building with a Certificate of Occupancy for residential use.

Details of amendments and votes:

Brazil offered an amendment to Evans' amendment which would have deleted the sections pertaining to license transfers -- in other words, it simply would have retained the moratorium.

Roll-call on Brazil Amendment:

For: Fenty, Orange, Brazil.
Against: Catania, Chavous, Cropp, Evans, Graham, Mendelson, Patterson, Schwartz, Allen, Ambrose.

Orange offered an amendment to Evan's Amendment which would have allowed license transfers only in the event the present building is demolished -- not when the licensee loses a lease or the rent is jacked up excessively. It also would have prohibited the establishment from moving within a mile of its present location, and would have restricted the interior space to a maximum of 7,000 square feet regardless of the previous size of the establishment.

Roll-call on Orange Amendment:

For: Orange, Brazil.
Against: Chavous, Cropp, Evans, Fenty, Graham, Mendelson, Patterson, Schwartz, Allen, Ambrose, Catania.

Finally, after the amendments to Jack's amendment failed, Graham called the question.

Roll-call on Evans Amendment:

For: Cropp, Evans, Fenty, Graham, Mendelson, Patterson, Schwartz, Allen, Ambrose, Catania, Chavous.
Against: Orange, Brazil.

Summary of Council discussion

Several councilmembers spoke well on behalf of reason and fairness. In particular, Schwartz was wonderful -- today alone, one could argue, she earned another GLAA Distinguished Service Award. Evans also made by far his strongest public statement to date in favor of reasonableness and fairness on this issue, and repeatedly criticized the misinformation and distortions that have been used to stir up hysteria on this issue. Linda Cropp also spoke well, stressing that she was not willing to impose her personal choices on the rest of the population, and warned against going down that path. Several other councilmembers added good comments, including Ambrose, Mendelson, Graham, and Catania.

The provision allowing an establishment to relocate within a warehouse district (if it is already within that district) expands the options for those threatened by loss of a lease or by redevelopment. This actually represents an enhancement of the bill from the version passed in December.

Tuesday was another vindication of GLAA's careful homework, consistent advocacy, and good working relationships with councilmembers. Another thing that paid off was the interviews Frank Kameny and I gave the Post's Marc Fisher on Monday, which resulted in his excellent Metro column Tuesday. Carol Schwartz praised Fisher and read portions of his column from the dais.

Now on to the Mayor and Control Board, then the Congressional review period. Special thanks and praise to Councilmember Sharon Ambrose for her toughness and clear-headedness in shepherding and defending the ABC bill, and to her key staffer on the bill, former GLAA President Jeff Coudriet.