Senator Applauds Kansas Legislature for Voting to Regulate Porn Biz Billboards
by Allie Martin
April 12, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A Kansas lawmaker says the state's legislature has responded to the increasing prevalence of pornography profiteers and their promotions by voting to restrict billboards advertising sexually oriented businesses.The Kansas Senate bill known as SB 519 prohibits signs or outdoor advertising for adult cabarets and other sexually oriented businesses from being located within one mile of any state highway. Also, if the business is located within one mile of a state highway, the bill would allow the establishment to display a maximum of two exterior signs -- one identifying the business and the other stating that it is off limits to minors.
State Senator Tim Huelskamp authored the bill, which he says is primarily designed to protect minors. "We have [this problem] in the state of Kansas and, I presume, in other states," he notes, "but I'm pretty aware of it. I have three young children."
Huelskamp says he and other members of the state House and Senate do a lot of travel as part of their legislative duties, "and we're seeing a proliferation of signs for these pornography shops across the state of Kansas, a lot of signs going up, a lot of new shops going up." This bill, he explains, "would simply regulate the size and number of those signs and hopefully present a more family-friendly image for the state of Kansas."
The senator is confident the proposed legislation will stand up to any legal challenges, as it has already cleared some hurdles of that nature. "The strongest opposition was a few legislators who raised some constitutional objections, at least in their mind, but we met those objections very well," he says.
Also, certain attorneys threatened that perhaps they would sue the state of Kansas, Huelskamp points out. "But sometimes when you're trying to do the right thing," he asserts, "particularly on matters such as these, you can expect a lawsuit from the pornography industry, given how many dollars are involved in that particular industry."
Nevertheless, Huelskamp contends that signs advertising sexually oriented businesses deliver a message that is "not productive" for the economy of Kansas -- and he considers such outdoor ads inappropriate, whether viewed by tourists or young children. He is pleased that SB 519 has passed the legislature; the bill now goes to Governor Kathleen Sebelius for her signature.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
