Thursday, March 10.1977 — THE GRYPHON — Page Seven
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TWO SIDED COIN...Rocky Mount has been permeated with
pornography in bookstores and theaters. Lieutenant Joe Brown,
department of statistics, has many letters objecting to sale of
pornography, but he says that many more will be needed for a town
the size of Rocky Mount. It appears that the pornography question
isn’t a respector of class structure for upper, middle, and lower
class people have written in, some with a very formal style letter
and some ripped off a coffee stained napkin. [Photos by Bulluck]
Law vs. Porno
X-Movies Pull 100
The new Adult bookstore on
Tarboro Street has apparently
propelled the potency of the
potion from the putrid, prurient
puddle of pornography, and
apparently some Rocky Mount
people want to dispose of that
puddle altogetherl Rocky Mount
Chief Arthur Butler has been
receiving letters that he will use
in his case to close down places
which sell pornography.
Mr. Butler says that accord
ing to the Supreme Court
obscenity is the hard-core
pornography that is obviously
offensive to anybody. In order
to close down these “hard
core” bookstores and theaters
the court must declare some
thing as obscene based on com
munity standards. Nudity alone,
according to the Supreme Court,
is not obscenity. “Personally, 1
would like to see the
pornography filled bookstores
and theaters gone all over
America,” says Chief Butler.
“It has been linked to organized
crime.” Chief Butler closed by
saying, “I would encourage the
young reader to realize that
this community is his com
munity and that this is just one
more thing that does not make
Rocky Mount a better place.”
District Attorney Frank
Brown said that there is a two
stage procedure to disposing of
obscene literature and movies.
First an advisory hearing is held
to bring in obscene materials.
Then based on the amount of
pure evidence the judge finds
a bookshop or movie house as
either obscene or not obscene.
Based upon a finding that rates
a place as obscene, the book
store cannot sell that objection
able material without chance of
a criminal violation of law. So
apparently the pornography
question will have to be
repeatedly taken to court to get
what some Rocky Mount
residents call “a clean town.”
The city officials and the district
attorney hope to reach a
decision in a couple of weeks
and “get something done about
this,” stated Mr. Brown. Mr.
Brown said that he thought it
was bad in his own personal
opinion. However, the District
Attorney’s job is to use the law
to bring about the most effective
way of answering questions of
obscenity in Rocky Mount to a
proper end.
In Rocky Mount, small city
that it is, obscene and pornogra
phic materials are available.
Book stores and movie theaters
display obscene and pornogra
phic materials.
Reporters approached one of
this area’s pornographic movie
theaters and felt a strange
atmosphere. The people who
ran the theatre appeared uneasy
when reporters were present.
However, the reporters were
able to get some information.
The manager suggested that
The Gryphon not use his name
in the article.
The man in charge revealed
that he had been instructed by
the owners not to say anything
about the pictures, but he still
gave his personal views on
pornography. He said that there
was nothing wrong with it, if
that is what the public wants to
see. The theater does not
advertise in the local paper, and
the manager said they would not
try to drag anyone in to see
these movies. It is strictly up to
the individual according to the
manager.
Furthermore, he stated that
there had never been any
violence because of their
movies. Many people have
tried to sneak into the movies
without paying, but the people
who usually come to see the
movies don’t give them any
trouble. The manager stated
also that a proof of age is
required. Attendants ask for
Atlantic Office Supply Co.
130 Howard Street Rocky Mount, N. C.
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FREDERICK'S MARKET
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901 West Thomas Street
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driver’s license as identifica
tion. The legal age to attend
X-rated movies is 18. If a person
does not have sufficient
identification, he will not be
permitted to go in according to
the manager.
Oddly enough reporters dis
covered that on a rainy day, the
attendance is greater than on a
sunny day. The weather is an
important factor because on a
rainy day farmers and business
men are not able to work well,
so they go to the movies to
relax. On an average day
approximately 100 people at
tend the movies. The per
centage of women attending is
low. Women generally attend
the movies in couples (with a
boyfriend).
Recalling recent articles
about Child Abuse, reporters
asked the manager if the
showing of children or animals
in sexual acts were permitted.
He stated no.
Reporters also were told that
since the opening of the Adult
Book Store in Rocky Mount,
more attention to the X-rated
movies has come from priests
and churches, and he stated that
the Book store could be a hazard
to the business. “Obscene
material is a material which
deals with sex in a manner
appealing to prurient interest.”
Recently in Miller v. California,
the Supreme Court stated that
for a work to be considered
obscene it must be “judged as a
whole, not just in terms of
isolated words or phrases;
judged in terms of the standards
of the values of a highly
sensitive individual.”
Random House Dictionary
has defined pornography as
“obscene literature, art or
photography especially that
having little or no merit.” The
Supreme Court gave the right to
the state, which passed the right
to the local community to define
obscenity according to this
criterion (1) that the dominant
theme taken as a whole lacks
serious literary, artistic, politi
cal, or social value. Other laws
say a person may not buy,
acquire, or export obscene
material.
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