Porn Shop Hardier Than Officials Who Wanted to Ban It

"Whaddaya mean, 'Why was I seen entering the porn shop on Route 40?' Wait — that's a porn shop? Honey, I swear, I go there for the T-shirts and the cheap Danielle Steele novels!"

Anyway, any article that begins with the tendentious words "The pornographers have won" is sure to put a little spring in my step, because another way to read that statement is "The First Amendment is still in effect," and yet another fine interpretation is "This is America, which means you may legally buy magazines and DVDs that give some people the vapors, and there isn't a fucking thing anyone can do about it."

Which is as it should be, except for the part where you, the shopkeeper, have to fight off eleven years of officials' constant harassment to finally get them to leave you and your customers alone.

Comments

[parse]

New York City tried to use similar zoning regulations to drive porn stores out of business, with some success. In the NYC regulations, only 40% of a store's inventory could be explicit material; the other 60% had to be something else. I was heartened when one store not only revised its stock to comply, but also proudly changed it's name to "60-40 Video."

[Eric Ogunbase]

Why should it matter if adults wish to look at things deemed by someone else as "obscene or explicit"? I wouldn't show my children pornography or serve them alcohol. But if they're of age, why should I impede their choices? Whether they choose to look at photos or videos of consenting adults engaging in intercourse in the privacy of their own homes, is none of my damn business. Just like it's none of their damn business if I do.