A few neighborhood Christian residents in a small local town in Indiana have been protesting around the clock to shut down a local business since it’s opening in 2005. The Lion’s Den is an adult bookstore that opened in Uniontown, Indiana which is located 41 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky directly off of Interstate 65.
The protesters have signs warning exposure of customers going into the store, including shooting video and taking photos of those patrons and posting them on their website. They also advertise that they will contact employers of the truckers & business vehicles that patronize the store.
War-Line website notes “A recent survey shows 85 percent of rapes and molestation are reenactments of a porn video/DVD. This means every time someone buys a smut video/DVD there is an 85 percent chance that sale will eventually result in a rape or molestation of a child.”
Defenders of pornography argue that it is not harmful, and thus should not be regulated or banned. Others argue that a pervert/child predator who hurts children doesn’t necessarily watch adult videos or books. Some argue that what 2 adults do behind closed doors is no-one else’s business & for those individuals that are “not wired right” & hurt children do so because of their own issues, not because they watched a video of adults having sex.
There are several emails that they have posted on their website. I think a few of them seem a little extreme. There are also nice replies to some of the emails. This particular email was from someone who said she was employed at Lion’s Den in St. Louis. She appeared to be politely giving her opinion stating that she didn’t think it was the Christian thing to do & that it invaded innocent peoples privacy. Here is a small portion that I felt was extreme. You can view all of the emails & replies on their website. “We believe we know more about Christian behavior than you. We find it ironic you, who proudly claims not to be Christian and works at an adult store, have the audacity to tell us how to act Christian. Let’s make a deal. You don’t tell us how to act Christian and we won’t tell you how to act like a porn slut).”
The Lion’s Den is up for sale and now has some interested parties. According to the information, they confirmed in a Jackson County court that the Uniontown protest has impacted sales. They reported that using the court papers as a guide, the protest has impacted sales of approximately 3 million dollars.
A debate among psychologists was listed on webmd (Is pornography addictive?) written by Martin F. Downs. The effects of pornography on the brain were called “toxic” and compared to cocaine. One psychologist claimed “prolonged exposure to pornography stimulates a preference for depictions of group sex, sadomasochistic practices, and sexual contact with animals.”
Porn can be a part of a healthy relationship but can also hinder intimacy in some circumstances. Some people are not comfortable explaining what they want sexually. Watching a video together may make it easier for some to open up to their partner. Mauipete, a guest writer for Butler Report, wrote an article “Men, sex ‘n porn” giving a man’s candid & honest opinion about, well.. men, sex & porn. I found his article to be straight forward and interesting.
Some things to think about: Is pornography the cause of rapists? Could it be that some people have a chemical imbalance that causes them to act on bad thoughts that enter their mind? Perhaps it is just the simple fact that there are evil people in this world & nothing, including closing every adult store, will change that.
I saw a front page article for October 14, 2009 “Porn Protester Changes Plea To Guilty” in the Crothersville Times. Melvin Ray Owen, 75, was charged with simple battery, a Class B misdemeanor, for reportedly touching a teenage girls breasts multiple times while she rode with him in his truck. According to the article, Owen admitted to the girls father and to police that he had touched the girl and that he was sorry for what he had done. Mr. Owen was an organizer and spokesman for the protesters. His initial plea was not guilty, but on September 16, 2009 Melvin Owen changed his plea to guilty. It was an open plea. There was no plea bargain to encourage him to change his plea. Judge Markel could sentence Owen up to 180 days in jail. He is scheduled to be sentenced in Jackson County Court in Seymour, Indiana at 10am on October 22, 2009.
Naturally, this confuses people and is another example that child predators are everywhere. The Protesters are blaming pornography for creating rapist & child molesters. Does this mean that Mr. Owen would have watched a porn movie himself or does it show that no certain group of people can be labeled as “the ones” who rape or become child predators? No-one, except Mr Owen, knows why he chose to touch a little girl when he was so forcefully protesting something that he believed to be the cause of predators! Mr. Owen has to answer to that.
