HOURLY RENTALS FOR PROSTITUTION

There may be rare cases in which somebody wants to rent a hotel room for an
hour or two for a nap. But the reality is that hourly rentals for hotel
rooms, forbidden under a new city-parish ordinance, are only a fig leaf for
drugs and prostitution.

And, above all, the trade is an affliction for the black community and
enforcement of the new ordinance should be welcomed in neighborhoods where
prostitution is one of the agents of urban blight.

That is why it is welcome news that a federal magistrate has rejected a
legal challenge to the city-parish ordinance. A Baton Rouge motel owner had
challenged the law, saying it discriminated against black-owned motels.

U.S. Magistrate Docia Dalby said there is "no credible evidence" that the
ordinance is being enforced in a discriminatory manner.

"Indeed, African-American council members voted for the ordinance following
requests for passage by African-American community leaders," Dalby said.

The owner of an inner-city motel had claimed that the 1997 ordinance was an
"arbitrary, capricious regulation" designed to hurt black-owned hotels and
motels. This is a weak attack on the law, which forbids hotels and motels
in East Baton Rouge Parish from renting rooms by the hour and from renting
any room more than once in an 18-hour period. Motels and hotels are also
required to keep records of who rented rooms and make the records available
to law enforcement authorities upon request.

Baton Rouge police Cpl. Don Kelly said the department is pleased by the
ruling, noting that officers were enforcing the ordinance while Dalby
considered Thigpen's challenge.

The law is necessary and we believe it will be helpful to curbing easy
access to motel rooms for drug use and prostitution.