Some of our opponents require unreasonable degrees of proof that adult businesses cause secondary effects and aggressively question the right of cities to regulate them. Fortunately, the US Supreme Court better understands the realities of urban planning. Here we quote from the majority decision in City of Los Angeles v Alameda Books (2002). The matter […]
First Amendment
Ulysses S. Grant: Matching the Constitution to Present Realities
Some opponents of adult-use zoning claim that since porn involves speech, the Constitution written by the founders of our country requires us to avoid regulating the porn business in any way. Debates over how to interpret the Constitution have arisen before, of course, most notably at the time of the Civil War. Union general (and […]
A Review of Pornified: How Pornography Is Damaging Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families
NPN’s Jendi Reiter reviews Pamela Paul, Pornified: How Pornography Is Damaging Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families (New York: Owl Books/Henry Holt & Co., 2005). Freelance journalist Pamela Paul, a contributor to Time Magazine, The Economist, Psychology Today and numerous other mainstream magazines, undertook this study of the pervasiveness of pornography in modern American […]
WMass Librarians: No Sign of Censorship Following Adult-Use Zoning
Some of our opponents have argued that significant censorship is likely to follow if adult-use zoning regulations are passed in Northampton. Librarians in Western Massachusetts say this has not been their experience.NPN’s Jendi Reiter spoke today with librarians in several Massachusetts towns that passed adult-use zoning in the mid-1990s or earlier. We asked whether such measures […]
Steinem on Flynt: “This pornography is as different from sex as rape is from sex”
Pornographers like Larry Flynt style themselves heroes of the First Amendment, and say that to oppose their products is to oppose sex and support censorship. Gloria Steinem disagrees, reports The Boston Globe: In an op-ed piece in Tuesday’s New York Times, Gloria Steinem equated [Larry] Flynt with a publisher of Ku Klux Klan books or […]
Hustler Cartoons: Racism, Misogyny, Anti-Semitism, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Incest, Ridicule of Disabled People… (explicit)
If you wonder where people get callous attitudes towards other groups and those who disagree with them, a good place to start is with cartoons like those found in Hustler. We are indebted to Nikki Craft and the Hustling the Left website for bringing these to our attention. These images are explicit and should only be […]
State Senator Stanley Rosenberg Supports Adult-Use Zoning
A 1995 Union-News article quotes State Senator Rosenberg (D-Amherst) as supporting adult-use zoning:“I recognize the courts have upheld the Constitutional Rights of people to buy and sell these materials. The courts have also said governments have the right to regulate where such materials are sold.”In the matter of Hadley trying to relocate a sex shop, […]
A Response to Capital Video Attorney Michael Pill: Intimidation, Rhetoric, and the Facts
Michael Pill, the attorney for pornography franchise Capital Video Corporation, handed out a memorandum (PDF) at the October 19 City Council meeting that seriously misrepresents the facts and issues at stake in the controversy over Capital Video’s plans to open a 6,200-square-foot adult emporium at 135 King Street, adjacent to a residential neighborhood. Dr. Pill (he has […]
California Supreme Court Ruling Helps Communities Preserve Quality of Life While Leaving Room for Free Expression
This California court ruling is a bit old (1989), but it strikes an appealing balance between community interests and free expression… The state Supreme Court on Thursday gave local governments more power to use “porn zoning” laws to restrict the location of theaters that show sexually explicit movies.In a widely watched test of municipal authority, […]
Barney Frank: Zoning Balances First Amendment with Community Concerns
The Washington Post (1995) writes about Boston’s experience with zoning sex shops… …Barney Frank, now one of the most quotable leaders of the House Democratic minority…had been elected to the Massachusetts legislature in 1972, representing part of downtown Boston. A short time later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities could not ban sex-related businesses, but […]