Right wing religious agenda? NOT!

This week’s Hartford Advocate has an article about Berlin’s battle with VIP.

It takes the typical stand of saying we are somehow against free speech and the 1st amendment, and that opponents of such businesses “use” zoning issues, such as “purported” secondary effects to take away or censor the right of others’ freedom of expression, simply because we don’t like what they are expressing. Apparently because we think it is sinful.

I won’t hold Adam Bulger (a nice enough guy in my dealings with him), the Advocate reporter, personally responsible for this statement from one of his sources…
“Clyde DeWitt, a Los Angeles based attorney who specializes in adult business-related First Amendment issues, said that arguments about secondary effects are specious, and tend to hide an anti-free speech agenda.

“The fact of the matter is that there’s a group of right wing Christians who think adult entertainment is a sin and they’re trying to do everything they can to get rid of it,” DeWitt said. “This seems to work for them because you can’t say you’re not allowed to have this because that would be the regulation of a content of speech. Whether they like it or not, Playboy is speech and it’s protected, just like their churches are.”

I think people like DeWitt use the term “right wing Christians” as buzzwords, to lump those who want adult businesses regulated with religious “nuts,” and to intimidate people from speaking out against such businesses, lest you be called a nut or a prude.

I would like to state for the record that I am not a right wing Christian with a religious based “agenda” against free speech. Or sex. Or sin.

The fact of the matter is that I am just a normal (well, OK… average?) middle class person, who was minding my own business, who came home from work one day and found that a huge porn shop wanted to open next door, and it would be open until 2 in the morning.

So before you go labeling me a prude, or a right wing nut, as yourself this:
What would you do if it was YOUR neighborhood, your children who’s bus stop was going to be less than 250′ from VIP?

I am not trying to stop stores like this from existing. I don’t care what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms. But really, would you want this type of business within walking distance of your home?

This is not about religion, or even politics. For anyone who cares to know (probably not many), I am a Christian (Lutheran), but not a right wing one and I work for a Jewish publication. Certainly I am for freedom of religion, or non-religion. I am against making abortion illegal(I guess that would be pro-choice, but I don’t think anyone is pro-abortion). I am pro-gay marriage (people making a commitment to eachother can’t be a bad thing!) I have worked for newspapers and media my entire adult life, so I am absolutely in favor of the first amendment (although I think it has been twisted by the adult business industry –talk about an agenda, like it’s about some lofty constitutional reason. It’s about $$$$) I majored in ART in college, at an all-arts college, not typically right wing communities, if you know what I mean. I am not even right handed… I’m a lefty. I’m the daughter of a lefty, and the mother of a lefty.

There is no hidden agenda, religious or otherwise. My only agenda is that I do not want to live next door to a 15,000 sq. ft. sex shop.

What are secondary effects? They are the same reasons you probably don’t want to live next to a sex shop either.