When Is A Porn Shop Not A Porn Shop?
KNOW that: “The pornographers have won in Ellicott City.”
Yeah, Americans are undone by the, er, freedom of speech. Who knew?
After an 11 year battle, Howard County is giving up its effort to close down the Pack Shack bookstore on Route 40, saying it no longer can make the case that the shop is an adult book store.
County lawyers say the shop is now selling enough non-explicit material, such as t-shirts and used paperbacks, that it no longer qualifies as an adult book store under county law. ‘
Local church leaders say they’re still going to make noise about the shop, and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman says he wants to review the situation before he gives up the fight.
A porn shop is not aporn shop when:
Statement from Howard County Solicitor Margaret Ann Nolan
Under the County’s amended zoning regulation, a bookstore is defined as “adult” if 20% or more of its total inventory or floor space is devoted to adult material.
Rather than challenge this definition in court, Pack Shack opted to make substantial modifications to its inventory and layout to fall within this definition.
Posted: 25th, August 2008 | In: Reviews Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink
