(U-WIRE) LOS ANGELES — The strip clubs are striking back.

In response to the Los Angeles City Council's unanimous vote to ban lap dances, signature gatherers — backed by the city's adult club industry — descended upon UCLA late last week, stirring discussion and debate about the increasingly contentious issue.

The circulating petition asks city residents to help repeal a pending ordinance that imposes a six-foot distance between male and female strippers and their patrons.

The measure, which passed by a vote of 13-0 in City Hall, is awaiting the signature of Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, who is expected to approve it.

The proposed ordinance prohibits strip club clientele from touching performers, direct tipping in G-strings, and receiving lap dances.

Violations of the ordinance will be punishable by up to six months in jail and up to $2,500 in fines.

John Bowers, a signature gatherer who recently worked to get the necessary signatures for California's gubernatorial recall election, roamed around UCLA's Bruin Plaza on Friday seeking students and voters to sign the petition.

Throughout the day, Bowers noticed trends, albeit perhaps predictable ones.

"A lot more men are signing the petition than women," Bowers said.

Strategists for the city's strip clubs are hoping to collect nearly 57,000 signatures by Oct. 25 in hopes of qualifying a "lap dance" measure for the municipal ballot.

If the strip clubs succeed in having their petition certified, the council must either repeal its ordinance or call an election within 140 days.

Bowers, who gathered "lap dance" signatures on the University of Southern California campus on Oct. 2, noted a contrast between the two Los Angeles schools.

"USC students signed the petition (with great enthusiasm). People at UCLA seem more conservative," he said.

However, many UCLA students have expressed displeasure about the lap dance ban.

Lauren Boitano, a fourth-year communication studies student, signed the petition against the proposed ordinance.

"I think it's such a stupid thing to outlaw. People want to give them and people want to get them," Boitano said. She said she was unaware of the new ordinance before she signed the petition.

Huei Jang, a fourth-year business-economics student, favors rescinding the lap dance ban for economic reasons.

"I think it would be good for the economy... It gets people to spend money," Jang says, adding that the issue infringes on a citizen's civil rights.

"People have the right to engage in this form of entertainment if they wish as long as they don't hurt anyone," he says.

Although a good number of UCLA students signed the petition, many did not.

Ana Adam, a fifth-year sociology student, declined to sign the petition because she believes lifting the ban would legitimize the degradation of women and men.

"I'd rather be cleaning toilets than doing lap dances. If you had respect for yourself, you wouldn't (give lap dances for money)," she says.

Adam also says she would vote against the movement to repeal the lap dance ban if the measure's opponents succeed in gathering the necessary number of signatures.

Other students have focused on different issues concerning the adult club industry. Some believed measures should be taken to prevent prostitution.

Supporters of the pending ordinance argue that strip clubs, bikini bars and adult bookstores contribute to prostitution, drug use and violence.

Erubey Lopez, a fourth-year political science and Chicana/o studies student, expresses concern about prostitution being practiced in strip clubs.

"(The city) should make sure it doesn't happen," Lopez says, adding that government enforcement may be necessary but that lap dances should not be prohibited.

— Rogelio Morales