Into the Lion's Den...

I read a story in my local newspaper, the Indianapolis Star, today describing a three-year long battle between an interstate-exit "adult bookstore" called the Lion's Den (located off I-65 in southern Indiana's Jackson County) and a group of particularly aggressive Christian activists/protestors who have formed an organization called "Jackson County Watchdog." It seems that since the adult bookstore opened in August 2005, this group of protestors (who I wholeheartedly agree do have their First Amendment right to peacefully protest whatever "societal evil" they choose) has launched an effort to humiliate and harass patrons of the store by staking out the parking lot (from a county-owned piece of land across the street) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, photographing people coming in and out of the store and posting these photographs on their website, http://www.war-line.org/. They seem to have particularly targeted truck drivers; the Star article indicates that the group has erected a sign that states: "Warning truckers. If you visit the adult bookstore, we will take your picture and send it to your employer," and one page of their website clearly describes an incident where one of the members of the group called a trucking company to "tattle" on one of their employees who had stopped at the bookstore. The trucking company responded with a letter indicating, among other things, that the person from the group who had called was described as "agitated."

Last month, the owners of the Lion's Den filed a lawsuit against Jackson County alleging that their constitutional rights are being violated (in particular the Equal Protection clause under the 14th Amendment) because the County seems to be siding with the protest group. Given the circumstances (described below), it does seem that the owners of the store have a rather compelling argument. The main issue stems from the fact that the protesters have "set up shop," so to speak, in a makeshift shed they erected and adorned themselves in an empty parcel of county-owned land across the street from the bookstore. This shed was put up in 2005 by the protesters without obtaining a permit from the county, which is required for such construction, but the county has done nothing in response. In fact, the County's lawyer, Stephen Pierson is even quoted in the article commenting that "farmers in the county frequently build sheds similar to the one the protesters erected" and further stating that "zoning ordinances are not strictly enforced."

Ok, so the County it seems has decided that it does not intend to enforce zoning regulations (even though they are law). Well, not exactly. The County seems that it will only selectively enforce their zoning ordinances, when it involves construction of an establishment that goes against their particular moral sensitivities. According to the Star article, the land the bookstore was built on was zoned by the County for "general business" purposes and thus, according to the county's own zoning regulations, needed only to apply for a permit to establish a "retail business" and WAS NOT required to be more specific about the nature of the business in order to obtain the permit. The permit must have been awarded because construction began on the store and it wasn't until August 2005 (when the store was set to open) that a group of residents complained to county commissioners that "there was more than a truck stop under construction at Exit 41." In response, rather than "eating crow" and admitting that the zoning ordinances that were in place at the time were inadequate, the commissioners instead proceeded to pass an ordinance 3 DAYS BEFORE the planned opening of the store that required "adult" businesses to obtain a special permit. The store opened 3 days later, without this newly required permit, and the commissioners filed a lawsuit in Jackson County Superior Court against the store for violating the ordinance (I have been trying to find a link to these court filings but the Indiana Courts case search isn't working properly right now so I will post it when it's back working). It seems that no ruling has been made in the case and the issue seems to have been somewhat forgotten until last month when Lion's Den filed a suit against the County.

I find it absolutely shameful that a governmental entity of any kind can so blatantly flaunt its own laws when it suits their agenda but then crack down enforcement when it is convenient for them. While I certainly feel that it is one's own business what type of "bookstore" they choose to visit, I do also agree that a local community has a right to not want to allow certain types of establishments encroaching upon their residences. It seems quite surreptitious of the commissioners to suddenly pass an ordinance required special permits 3 days before opening, but still, if the County has chosen to then enforce the ordinance (as they have with their lawsuit) then how can they justify in the least continuing to not only refuse to punish, but ignore completely, the fact that these fanatical protesters have erected their own "lookout post" on county land without proper permits? Such blatant bias by a governmental entity should not be tolerated...it's not only unfortunate, but also alarming, that it seems certain businesses/individuals/groups, etc. are being stripped of their Constitutional rights simply because of their "immoral" (discussion of the ambiguity of this term could take up several posts on its own) nature. And this is not only about a porn store in rural Indiana but is symptomatic of a larger trend that seems to be growing here in the U.S. I certainly don't like the slippery slope this perches us upon...

If you have a few extra minutes, take a look at the website for the Jackson County Watchdog group...I've not stumbled upon anything quite as asinine or ignorant in quite a while. It's quite disturbing that there are people who actually believe the following statement (found on one of the pages of the website) and don't even question where such a dubious "statistic" was gleaned (I'm betting on it simply being made up)--"A recent survey shows 85 percent of rapes and molestation are reenactments of a porn video/DVD. This means every time someone buys a smut video/DVD there is an 85 percent chance that sale will eventually result in a rape or molestation of a child." WHAT???!!!