04-03-1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 • Communities are not powerless to combat theseroblem . p s But to be most effective in defending itself from pornography each community must work from the evidence and within the law. The report of this Working Group is designed to assist local communities in developing an appropriate and effective defense. 1 The first section of the report discusses evidence that sexually oriented • businesses, and the materials from which they profit; have an adverse impact on the surrounding communities. It provides relevant evidence which local communities can - use as part. of their justification for reasonable regulation of sexually oriented businesses. The Working Group also discussed the relationship between sexually oriented businesses and organized crime. Concerns about these broader effects of sexually oriented businesses underlie the Working Group's recommendations that obscenity should be prosecuted and the tools of obscenity seized when sexually oriented businesses break the law. I ID The second section of this report describes strategies for regulating sexually oriented businesses and prosecuting obscenity. The report presents the principal • alternatives, the recommendations of the Working Group and some of the legal issues . to consider when these strategies are adopted. The goal of the Attorney General's Working Group in providing this report is to . support and assist local communities who are struggling against the blight of pornography. When citizens, police officers and city officials are concerned about gime-and the deterioration of neighborhoods, each of- us-lives -next door.- No community stands alone. SUMMARY The Attorney General's Working Group on the Regulation of Sexually Oriented Businesses makes the following recommendations to assist communities in protecting themselves from the adverse effects of sexually oriented businesses. Some or all of -3- I