By Gudrun Schultz

UNIONTOWN, Indiana, September 6, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Local residents of Jackson County have joined efforts by the county government in an all-out campaign to oust an adult store selling pornographic videos and DVDs from the neighborhood, the Courier-Journal reported yesterday.

Protestors picket outside the Lion’s Den seven days a week, at all hours, carrying signs and photographing or videotaping customers entering the business.

“We will be here till that is gone,” protestor Douglas Hoskins told the Courier-Journal. “I don’t want this to happen to anybody else, anywhere else.”

A lawsuit is pending in Jackson County Superior Court, with county commissioners accusing the company operating the porn shop of violating restrictions requiring adult businesses to obtain a permit, among other requirements. The restrictions were passed by the county just three days before the shop opened, after commissioners learned the “truck stop” under construction would offer sexually explicit material for sale.

The battle is the latest in an ongoing effort by county officials in Kentucky and Indiana to stop inroads of the porn industry into rural communities. Local governments in five communities have launched court battles against adult stores over the past three years.

Experts say enacting zoning restrictions ahead of time is the best bet for communities who don’t want porn shops to open up. Although it is not legal for a government to ban a sexually oriented business, counties can control store locations and regulate operations if they establish bylaws in time.

Scott Bergthold, a lawyer working on several county court cases against adult business operations, told the Courier-Journal that porn shop operators target locations with good business potential and few restrictions.

Jackson County attorney Rodney Farrow agreed, saying, “[Adult businesses] really prey on rural communities that don’t have the resources to fight them.”

See Courier-Journal coverage:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060905/NEWS01/609050394

See related LifeSiteNews coverage:

Ohio Pro-Family Group Seeks Restrictions Against Sexually-Oriented Business
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jul/06072703.html

Judge Orders Erotic Billboards Away From Road
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/apr/06040402.html