It's sex shop vs. Roy in speech case

Doctor John's Lingerie Boutique on Wednesday will take on the city of Roy in a First Amendment case that will decide whether the city can regulate sexual speech.

The case, almost a decade in the making, hinges on whether businesses such as Doctor John's increase crime and blight and decrease neighboring property values.

If Roy succeeds, municipalities' freedom to regulate sexual speech would be increased by allowing elected officials to decide if something is likely to harm the community. If the sex shop wins, municipalities' power to regulate the shops would be restricted, because elected officials would have to prove harm to the community using more specific scientific methods, according to briefs filed with the court of appeals.

Attorneys will make oral arguments Wednesday before judges from the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, who will be meeting in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah law school.

John Coil, a managing partner in Doctor John's Lingerie Boutique stores, said in an interview that the only negative effect of adult boutiques in Utah is harm to the religious, male oppression of women and their bodies.

"For harm to community — here's the thing: That's the very same argument they use in Muslim countries when a young girl uses her birth canal for something the men don't want her to use it for," the Texas businessman said. "In the United States, in our society, women can use their bodies for whatever they want."

Coil's opponents disagree, saying evidence against sex devices and erotica is overwhelming. John Harmer, president of the national anti-smut group Lighted Candle, said people can get addicted to "eroto-toxins" that work like drugs to drag their victims into addiction.

Serious problems with hard-core and child pornography addiction begin with addiction to mainstream pornography, Harmer contends in a newsletter for the group.

Doctor John's moved into Roy the day after Valentine's Day in 2001. The City Council responded by enacting an ordinance requiring all sexually oriented businesses to take out special business licenses. The ordinance requires all employees of such businesses to be licensed and undergo background checks. The measure also restricts business hours.

The ordinance defines adult bookstores as those in which a "significant or substantial portion" of its sales revolve around "specified sexual activities," or "sadomasochistic use or abuse of (the actors) or others."