Obscenity issue draws crowd

February 19, 2006

DAWN DE BUSK\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Palmer City Council meetings generally don't attract many residents other than those sitting on the council, some city employees and a few regulars.

On Tuesday night, however, more than 60 people filled seats at the meeting or waited in city hall's foyer, and 17 of the 23 people who spoke weighed in on the issue of whether the city needs a more specific ordinance to keep pornography out of Palmer.

The controversy stems from the opening last year of Movie Gallery, a national chain that offers adult videos in the stock of items it sells and rents to customers in its Palmer store, even though the city has on its books a vaguely worded 28-year-old ordinance outlawing obscenity within city limits.

Local officials are now seeking to clarify the definition of obscenity and thereby establish whether Movie Gallery and at least one other video-rental business in Palmer would be violating city code if they continued offering adult videos.

Ultimately, the city council decided to assign the task of rewriting the current ordinance to City Attorney Jack Snodgrass.

While a dozen of those who took advantage of audience participation time argued against allowing video pornography, usually saying it would lead to a gradual degradation of Palmer and its outlying communities, five argued for freedom of choice.

And so did Palmer City Council member Ken Erbey.

&#8220I don't think it's our job to dictate morality,” Erbey said.

He argued that if there is a profanity law in Palmer, most sports games would be suspended in order to arrest and haul off to jail two or three students and the coaches as well as a few parents.

&#8220Anyone driving through Palmer isn't going to be left with the impression that it's a northern Sodom and Gomorrah,” Erbey said.

Erbey added that there are not any ‘Triple X' neon signs pointing out local video stores that might carry adult videos, nor do those businesses advertise in other ways.

&#8220A discreet little room in the back is where it starts,” Carolyn Kuch said, quoting studies that show the evolution from selling adult videos to addiction to pornography, damaged marriages, increased prostitution, more strip bars and sexually deviant behavior.

Palmer resident Randy Hamann said pornography would hurt Palmer as well as negatively influence outlying commuities.

&#8220Palmer has been a heck of a place to raise kids. I would like to continue to see it to be a moral place for our grandkids to raise their kids,” Hamann said.

Kay Hamilton explained that she was the victim of child molestation that resulted from an adult viewing pornography.

&#8220When adults are privy to this kind of material, it doesn't mean that they don't act on it with children,” Hamilton said, adding later that the community would be guilty of those sexual crimes for allowing people access to adult videos.

Two Palmer High School students, Kelsey Pilch and Kenni Psenak, who had attended Tuesday's meeting to update the council on high school activities and had no idea that the obscenity laws were on the agenda, decided to speak at the last minute.

Both young women argued that freedom of choice should outweigh the council's decision to toss pornography out of the community.

Pilch said issues such as curbing underage drinking and the use of profanity should be more of a priority than banning adult videos, which only appeal to a few.

Pilch and Psenak stressed the importance of parents teaching values rather than city government imposing morality on people.

&#8220Have faith in people to make their own personal choices and give freedom to businesses. And don't worry about things that might not happen. To provide something like this doesn't mean this generation is going to take advantage of this,” Psenak said.

&#8220There are temptations in high school all the time. It's a matter of choice,” Pilch said. &#8220How much can you control by controlling one store?”

Council member Brad Hanson focused on the language of the ordinance rather than the emotions and opinions of the audience.

&#8220If we have an ordinance with an inadequate definition, we need to change it. We need to move to the attorney to make the language more clear,” Hanson said.

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252 or dawn.debusk@

frontiersman.com.