As you probably heard via the Grapevine Facebook page, the Icelandic parliament yesterday voted in favor of banning strip clubs in Iceland. 31 of a possible 63 voted in favor, but only two MPs – Árni Johnsen and Ragnheiður E. Árnadóttir, both from the Independence Party – abstained. Everyone else was somewhere other than parliament when the vote was cast.
The language of the law actually bans “naked exhibitions as a profession in restaurants,” adding furthermore that employees in general will not be allowed to be naked in their place of work. Social Democrat MP Steinunn Valdís Óskarsdóttir called the legislation “historic”.
However, Ásgeir Þór Davíðsson – better known as “Geiri í Goldfinger,” or Geir from Goldfinger, a strip club in Kópavogur that was a favorite of disgraced former Kópavogur mayor Gunnar Birgisson – was less than pleased. He told Vísir that he is considering taking the government to court for damages over the issue.