WICHITA, KS – The Wichita, KS, of today hardly resembles the rough, saloon- and gambling hall-lined, gunfighter-inhabited Wild West outpost it was in the 1800s. An ordinance that took effect January 1st after a nearly two-year grace period may force adult stores out of this Midwestern cow town.Enacted in 2005 with the backing of anti-porn activist groups like Operation Southwind, Wichita’s new zoning code requires stores that sell or rent adult videos or novelties to be at least 500 feet from churches, schools, public parks, daycare centers, residential areas, the historic Old Town district and any other adult business.
Some of the stores have been located in Wichita for 30 years, and supporters say it’s unfair for the city to decide the town ain’t big enough for them after all that time.
Attorneys like Chris O’Hara, who represents Circle Cinema, believe the ordinance is unconstitutional because it essentially leaves the stores nowhere to relocate. Rather than resign themselves to Boot Hill, he and his clients intend to shoot it out with the city in court.
Other store owners are taking different approaches. Four saddled up and rode away; two are negotiating with the city. Others say they’ll hole up and wait to be forced off their land.
Right-wing, pro-family groups are gunning for all of them, though. A herd of local residents joined 20th annual White Ribbons Against Pornography Week activities last October, and Dr. Richard Land, a prominent Southern Baptist minister and leader of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, has rallied an anti-porn posse by calling pornography “perhaps among the most pernicious” of the moral and ethical issues facing 21st Century families.
According to The Christian Post, Land says the rampant spread of porn via the Web and wireless devices threatens Christian homes, so governments at all levels should be pushed to enforce obscenity and zoning laws.
