STEVENSVILLE, MT – If at first you don’t succeed…He may not be as well-known as Focus on the Family’s James Dobson or Phil Burress of Citizens for Community Values, but in the state of Montana, Dallas Erickson is the unquestioned torch-bearer of the anti-pornography movement.
Erickson, according to a profile published by Missoula, MT-based newspaper The Missoulian, first began his campaign against pornography in 1977, and has waged a near nonstop war against sexually oriented businesses in the state ever since.
Lately though, Erickson’s persistence appears to be trying the patience of local officials and his public support seems to be dwindling, as well.
Although Erickson has had some successes – the Missoulian cites ordinances passed in Lincoln, Flathead, and Yellowstone Counties as among his triumphs – the Stevensville, MT native has seen his share of defeats, both in the courts and in the ballot box.
Last June, Yellowstone County approved a new zoning measure regulating sexually oriented businesses, but the county’s voters rejected an obscenity measure that was championed by Erickson, but opposed by many in Yellowstone’s artistic community due to the proposal’s breadth and vagueness.
More recently, Erickson began a signature gathering campaign in Ravalli County in an attempt to push a new obscenity ordinance there. Erickson must collect 4,000 signatures by next week – a goal that Erickson himself concedes he is likely to come up short on.
“I don’t think we’re going to make it,” Erickson told the Missoulian, vowing that if he fails this time around, he’ll reintroduce the Ravalli obscenity measure in time for the 2008 elections.
Indeed, Erickson has already begun preparation for reviving the proposed ordinance, asking county commissioners to put it on the ballot. Should he fail to persuade legislators to introduce the obscenity ordinance as a ballot measure, Erickson says he’ll take another shot at a petition drive.
According to the Missoulian, at least one high-placed local official is opposing Erickson’s efforts from within.
In a memo dated January 5th, Ravalli County Attorney George Corn cautioned commissioners against putting Erickson’s proposed measure on the ballot, arguing that he doubt the ordinance could survive a legal challenge.
Corn told the Missoulian that his office has spent a lot of time handling Erickson’s issues.
“I am tired of it because the public’s resources are being wasted,” Corn said, adding that Ravalli County faces more pressing issues than Erickson’s obsession with obscenity.
It appears that Corn isn’t the only one who has grown weary of Erickson’s anti-porn campaign; in a recent Montana Supreme Court decision, Justice William Leaphart wrote that “It appears these [obscenity ordinances] are ever-popular topics in Ravalli County.”
Russ Lawrence, owner of the Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, MT noted that the “popularity” of obscenity as a topic in Ravalli County “probably has a lot more to do with the fact that Dallas Erickson resides in Ravalli County than anything else in Ravalli County.”
Given the resistance to his efforts and the generally sparse support that he receives from his community, some might ask what keeps Erickson going.
“It’s not like he’s got this great, undefeated record,” said Lawrence, who back in 1994 was a plaintiff in a successful legal challenge to an ordinance of Erickson’s devising.
“I’m in this because I’ve got nine kids and 23 grandkids,” Erickson told the Missoulian.
Erickson says that he doesn’t believe that pornography causes abuse or rape, but cites a report by a clinical psychologist showing a “correlation” between porn and reported rape, according to the Missoulian. (The article does not name the report by title, nor does it identify the clinical psychologist, or detail the nature of the purported “correlation.”)
With respect to the question of why he does not enjoy more public support for his anti-porn campaign, Erickson says he believes he would get more support from feminists if not for his opposition to what he terms “the homosexual agenda.”
“In some states, feminists have the courage to speak out,” Erickson said.
Even some of those that agree with Erickson’s premise – that there is some manner of link between pornography and sex crime – have a hard time endorsing the notion that eliminating porn would make a significant difference in crime.
Kelly Slattery of the Missoula YWCA told the Missoulian that while she agrees that porn is linked to violence against women, the causes for such violence are numerous, many of those reasons predate pornography, and fixing the problem of violence against women isn’t simple.
“It would be nice to say, ‘Just get rid of porn and it’ll be over with,’ ” Slattery said.
Hamilton Police Chief Ryan Oster concurred, telling the Missoulian that he didn’t have the statistics on hand, but he doesn’t believe that pornographic or obscene materials lead to significant law enforcement problems.
Still, Oster isn’t surprised that Erickson has kept at it.
“He [Erickson] definitely has his ideas, and he’s very vocal,” Oster said, adding “He’s been on this obscenity ordinance thing for quite a while.”
If his history is indication, Erickson likely will stay on the “obscenity ordinance thing” for quite a while to come.
