NPN appreciates all of you who turned out on a hot night to attend our August 2 public meeting. As The Republican reports in today’s paper, we heard from several people concerned that our materials could be perceived as anti-gay. This is not our intention. Our goals are to be accurate and comprehensive in discussing the impact of adult theaters, and not to single out any particular group as bad, or imply that significant numbers of people in any particular group engage in bad acts. As we discover relevant new information, we try to convey it as objectively as possible so people can judge it for themselves.
If the volume of graphic documentation appears “over the top” to some, it’s because we are reacting to feedback we receive that questions how serious the secondary effects of adult theaters are, or claims that the activities in private viewing booths are not that unsafe. Porn lawyers sometimes try to combat regulations by saying the evidence against adult theaters and peep booths is weak. We want to show that the evidence is in fact strong, with many cities reporting problems over a wide span of time.
We appreciate Pride and Joy’s concern that our proposed zoning ordinance may burden them. We will likely revise the ordinance this month to address this issue. We are focused on regulating adult theaters, porn viewing booths and live nude shows. These are associated with the problems we are trying to prevent. As for adult bookstores, video stores or paraphernalia stores, these have shown themselves to be good neighbors in Northampton.