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Sex-shop rules: Censorship or good sense? Measure would let local officials decide zoning By Joseph B. Frazier A November ballot measure that would let local governments tell sex shops where they can locate is pitting advocates of community decorum against guardians of free speech. Oregon and Hawaii are the only states where local governments cannot regulate where adult-oriented businesses can locate. Measure 87 would amend the state constitution to give Oregon cities and counties the option to do so. David Fidanque, head of the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, contends the measure would "open the door to censorship in Oregon" and "partially appeal the Oregon Bill of Rights free speech protection." Rep. Rob Patridge, R-Medford, was instrumental in getting the Legislature to put the proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot. "We�re not saying get rid of these businesses, we�re saying find reasonable places to put them," said Patridge, an attorney. But Fidanque argued the intent of Measure 87 is to let politicians shut down businesses they think are offensive. He also said the measure is not needed because "local governments already have the power to shut down businesses that are causing problems." But the mayors of Salem and Eugene are among those who say local governments should have the right to decide where sex shops can be prohibited. "On two of the four entryways to our city we have large signs directing people to adult shops for videos and books and those sorts of things," said Salem Mayor Mike Swaim. He said many feel it makes a bad first impression on visitors. "I realize there is a constitutional right to that form of business, but we should be able to restrict where the business is located," he said. Swaim, who is a cooperating lawyer with the ACLU, said he thought long and hard before concluding that the measure is a reasonable regulation. Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey agreed. "The ability of a community to determine where these types of activities take place is very important," he said. "You wouldn�t want one near a school or a church. Let�s identify where you want these activities to take place." In Coos Bay, Jim Crooker has been part of a campaign to limit where sexually oriented businesses can locate. "There�s one of those bookstores right across the street from an elementary school," he said. "And there�s a nude dance parlor right around the corner." Coos Bay once had an ordinance banning adult businesses next to schools but got rid of it when they were told by counsel that it was unconstitutional, he said. "I wouldn�t have any problem with it if it was anyplace other than where it�s at," he said. But opponents of Measure 87 contend it is a foot in the door to censorship. "The language in the ballot title can lead to other forms of censorship, and I�m very concerned about that," said Joan Biggs, who heads the steering committee for opposition to the measure. "Perhaps not now, not today, but I don�t want to see that door open." Mike Powell, owner of Powell�s Books in Portland, also opposes the measure, saying the wording "makes it dicey when it comes to bookstores." He said the measure would make it possible for any store selling any book with sexual content to be swept up into the category of an adult business. "You have to live and die by the wording of the law and not by the intent of the people filing the petition," he said. "I absolutely see it as a First Amendment issue." "What they want to do is cluster them up in a neighborhood. I wonder if the people filing the petition would volunteer their neighborhoods?" Powell said some people don�t like the businesses, "but the price of a free society is sometimes to be inconvenienced." Fidanque, of the ACLU, said the definition of sex-oriented businesses may not allow cities and counties to regulate nude dancing bars since it uses a "principal business" standard to identify them. Most such establishments don�t charge admission and are in the "principal business" of selling drinks, he said. "If cities and counties try to figure out how to apply this to nude dancing they could end up adopting a definition of �principal business� which is overbroad, and that really opens the door to censorship," he said. On the Net: www.Oregon87.org Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA