Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/529bv.pdf
Page Number: 376.0

529US1

Unit: $U42

[10-11-01 11:58:08] PAGES PGT: OPIN

Cite as: 529 U. S. 277 (2000)

301

Opinion of O’Connor, J.

ban on such nude dancing would further Erie’s interest in
preventing such secondary effects. To be sure, requiring
dancers to wear pasties and G-strings may not greatly re-
duce these secondary effects, but O’Brien requires only that
the regulation further the interest in combating such effects.
Even though the dissent questions the wisdom of Erie’s cho-
sen remedy, post, at 323 (opinion of Stevens, J.), the “ ‘city
must be allowed a reasonable opportunity to experiment
with solutions to admittedly serious problems,’ ” Renton v.
Playtime Theatres, Inc., 475 U. S., at 52 (quoting American
Mini Theatres, 427 U. S., at 71 (plurality opinion)).
It also
may be true that a pasties and G-string requirement would
not be as effective as, for example, a requirement that the
dancers be fully clothed, but the city must balance its efforts
to address the problem with the requirement that the re-
striction be no greater than necessary to further the city’s
interest.

The ordinance also satisﬁes O’Brien’s third factor, that the
government interest is unrelated to the suppression of free
expression, as discussed supra, at 289–296. The fourth and
ﬁnal O’Brien factor—that the restriction is no greater than
is essential to the furtherance of the government interest—
is satisﬁed as well. The ordinance regulates conduct, and
any incidental impact on the expressive element of nude
dancing is de minimis. The requirement that dancers wear
pasties and G-strings is a minimal restriction in furtherance
of the asserted government interests, and the restriction
leaves ample capacity to convey the dancer’s erotic message.
See Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc., 501 U. S., at 572 (plurality
opinion of Rehnquist, C. J., joined by O’Connor and Ken-
nedy, JJ.); id., at 587 (Souter, J., concurring in judgment).
Justice Souter points out that zoning is an alternative
means of addressing this problem.
It is far from clear, how-
ever, that zoning imposes less of a burden on expression than
the minimal requirement implemented here.
In any event,
since this is a content-neutral restriction, least restrictive