Connecticut towns fight the SOBs!

I admit that's probably not a headline you'd expect to see here on an average day... but read on!

People in the Hartford area are constantly being exposed to those billboards - you know the ones. The ones you shouldn't be looking at...

Unfortunately, Connecticut moms are having to become experts at diverting their little ones' attention to what's on the other side of the road. Now Channel 30 (NBC) is reporting on the trouble faced by the good people at Bethany Covenant Church in Berlin.

We need to continue to pray and work against SOBs - that's the cute new name being given to "sexually oriented businesses."

We're happy that recently Attorney General Blumenthal received approval from a Federal Court to intervene as a friend of the Court in the Town of Berlin's fight against the company called VIP:

Very Intimate Pleasures, a sexually oriented chain store that Berlin officials are fighting to keep out of the town, objected Blumenthal's request.

"The court recognizes the ramifications this single case has beyond Berlin's borders for the entire state," Blumenthal said. "The state will be at Berlin's side in court -- protecting the right of every city and town in Connecticut to protect citizens from sexually oriented businesses.

The town has filed two lawsuits against VIP in federal court, hoping to keep it from opening a store on the Berlin Turnpike.

In November, the town's zoning board rejected VIP's plan to open a store and, more recently, town officials issued a cease-and-desist order against it after a VIP sign was placed outside the building into which it planned to locate....

"These businesses are proliferating across our state -- adult book and video stores, massage parlors and facilities featuring live nude entertainment -- opening shop on our Main Streets and near homes," Blumenthal said.

The New Britain Herald gives additional background:

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal joined Mayor Adam Salina and citizens of Berlin on Monday in the battle of municipalities to uphold their right to regulate sexually oriented businesses within their borders....

The attorney general thanked the people of Berlin for standing up and speaking out against "a statewide problem," the proliferation of sexually oriented businesses.

"What Berlin has done, and quite rightly, is restrict those stores and set limits on them," Blumenthal said. "The state is siding with Berlin. This fight goes way beyond Berlin's boundaries; it encompasses every town and municipality in the state. We will continue to fight at Berlin's side."

Under its Sexually Oriented Business Ordinance, Berlin prohibits such stores from operating within 250 feet from any residentially zoned land, as VIP is proposing. Blumenthal called the case significant because it threatens not only Berlin, but also towns and cities throughout the state that have enacted similar ordinances involving sexually oriented businesses. These municipalities include Ansonia, Branford, Bristol, Cromwell, Ellington, Enfield, Fairfield, Griswold, Hartford, Mansfield, Meriden, Rocky Hill, Seymour, Southington, South Windsor, West Hartford and Wethersfield.

Courts across the nation, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have upheld ordinances regulating sexually oriented businesses based on evidence of their adverse secondary effects. The attorney general said the harms of sexually oriented businesses are well documented. "(They) show increased crime, especially sex-related crime, reduced property values, the deterioration of neighboring businesses and a lower quality of life for residents in the surrounding area," he said.

Continue to pray for the Attorney General and the Town of Berlin as they fight for the rights of towns and cities to maintain a decent quality of life and shield their children from unwanted influences. If you have a chance, drop Mr. Blumenthal a note and tell him you appreciate these kinds of efforts.