Adult video rentals spark debate

Palmer mayor, city council members weigh in on obscenity ordinance

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Last month, a new video rental outlet, Movie Gallery, opened in downtown Palmer with an extensive selection of sexually explicit adult videos for rent or sale. These items are offered in a large back room, which is separated by a door from the rest of the store. The Palmer City Council offered these comments when asked whether they thought the city's code pertaining to the sale and distribution of obscene materials needed to be addressed.

John Combs

My basic take on it is, if it offends you, then don't go in there. That is kind of where I'm at on it. I don't see getting on a crusade to run any adult videos and DVDs out of town. I think there should be some discretion and if it is rented and sold in city limits, it should be screened from the general public and not sold to anyone under 18 years of age.

I can't define obscenity. Obscene is cultural based. I've always thought people would be too embarrassed to go in and rent adult videos. It just didn't seem like to be too big of an issue, but individuals can certainly issue a statement to the city manager that they don't think it belongs in the city.

Ken Erbey

Personally, I've got a problem with how vague the code is. I'm all in favor of putting in more specific wording to define what is obscene. We've had other video stores in town that have had these adult videos before but they were very discreet, with little back rooms, and it's never raised a stink before. There was no major public outcry.

I do know there was an adult video store on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway a few years ago and the local residents ran them out of town. If we had a store like that open in Palmer with 100 percent adult videos, I think that would spark a public outcry and I don't think the current code would be adequate to enforce anything. I would like to revisit the code and see what people have to say.

Brad Hanson

Truthfully, that is probably a violation of the city code. I think obscenity needs to be specifically spelled out. The code is supposed to be indicative of the values of the community and if the code says no to obscenity then this is something the council needs to address.

One of the most important things is to have consistent standards throughout the borough. If you are going to have standards in the borough, then standards should be consistent. I really think that if the values of the community are such that it needs to be a part of policy to restrict or prohibit these activities, then I think it is appropriate to do so.

Larry Hill

There are video rental stores that have been around for years renting adult videos. Video rental is an individual's choice. I'm from the old school of thought. Basically if someone wants to rent something like that and view it in the privacy of their own home, it is their own choice.

It has never been enforced because stores themselves do a pretty good job of self policing. If it is out in a wide open section I could see sending the cop shop over, but then we are going to have a court battle to define obscene and there we go. Palmer codes, many of them, are loose as a goose. You've seen society as it's changed. I feel the ordinance should probably be looked at and tightened up.

I think it should be brought to the city manager and city council to revisit this ordinance with the changes in society to see if changes need to be made to the code. Then we'll let a judge rule on it.

Tony Pippel

Obscenity is in the eye of the holder. It is pervasive in our culture. It's in magazines and on TV, but laws have to be specific.

Every video store in town has an X-rated section in the back marked off. They do a more or less good job of patrolling it, I think. I don't know.

But what does it tell you if a national movie chain is dedicating that kind of space to adult videos? It is on the Internet. It is still the driving force of the Internet.

Personally, I say, whatever people want to watch in their home, I don't care. Maybe it warps their mind and they prey on other people, but I have never seen that.

If there were a problem, then I can see taking a look at it. We have rules. Presumably they are there for a reason. Oftentimes we have rules just to have rules, not because we have a problem with it.

I would think a significant portion of the public would say yes, there needs to be a code, but I'm not sure at what point majority rule controls moral things.

I guess the code might need to be more enforceable and specificity makes it enforceable. I'm not particularly averse to making it more specific. If it becomes an issue of public concern, then we might have to look at it, but regulating morality is always tricky business.

Kathrine Vanover

I believe the city fathers intended to ban things like adult video sales. Whether we can do that, I don't know. We have to go by our code, but I would love to ban adult videos, personally. I'm against them - I don't think they are necessary.

Right now the only laws I can go by are the city code and that's not definitive enough. We have to make it enforceable and legal.

I don't think the city fathers were ever prepared for where society was going to. Who would have ever known that society would become so liberal? I'm a very conservative person. I think my father is just rolling over in his grave.

Jim Wood

This is a very vague ordinance - I don't see a definition of obscene. Perhaps that is something to look at. I would have to examine that.

Obscenity is difficult to classify or define. It is something that has never come before the council since I've been on. We would have to examine the court's definition of obscenity. The vagueness in our code needs to be better defined, if that is possible. It certainly needs to be examined and I will have to do some background studying on my own on that. I think that would be a good thing to do.