INDIANAPOLIS — After a protracted, years-long legal battle with local authorities over zoning regulations and freedom of expression, Hustler Hollywood will finally open a boutique in north Indianapolis.
The crux of the controversy concerned what the city code meant by “adult entertainment company,” a provision that was cited by local politicians and anti-sex activists to prevent the store from opening.
Zoning regulations are routinely exploited by pro-censorship groups and individuals around the country to prevent any sexual expression within specific city limits, forcibly marginalizing anything having to do with sex or sexuality to more dangerous areas. After forcing adult businesses into less desirable locations, these censorship groups then use circular reasoning to argue that sex-related businesses are linked to higher crime.
In the case of Indianapolis, according to local news site IndyStar, “city officials initially determined that the store qualified as an adult entertainment store, a use not allowed under the neighborhood’s commercial zoning design. Zoning and licensing officials said the store would need to obtain special permission to operate through a derogation.”
The Hustler Hollywood lawyers, the report continued, argued that the store “did not meet the definitions of an adult entertainment business — defined as either an adult bookstore or an adult service business under the city code.”
In March, a court issued a ruling ordering the city to approve the store.
'We'll All Be Lucky Enough'
Hustler Hollywood insisted that less than 25% of its retail space, inventory and revenue would be comprised of “adult products.”
“Operation below this threshold,” according to IndyStar, “would disqualify the site from the city’s definition of an ‘adult bookstore.’”
Another issue of contention with the anti-sex groups was the potential for offering sexual health workshops, to which the local opponents strongly objected.
Hustler Hollywood agreed not to hold any sexual education events at their Indianapolis location to avoid being classified as an an “adult service facility,” defined as a place that offers “a preponderance of services involving certain sexual activities or the representation of certain anatomical areas.”
One of the local anti-sex activists, Jason DeArman — a board member of the Greater Allisonville Community Council — sarcastically told reporters that “now we’ll all be lucky enough to have a Hustler alongside our Chuck E. Cheese and our Trader Joe’s, and what I consider to be the gateway to near northeast Indianapolis.”
Opposition to Sexual Health Seminars and 'Fetish Swings'
Local would-be censors explicitly objected to harmless sexual health seminars such as “Male Masturbation 101” and signage advocating for “hot sex” and “multi-orgasmic couples.”
City planner Larry Calloway theorized in a 2016 hearing that “it will be very difficult to enforce or ensure that the workshops or classes that seem to be taking place in all of their stores across the country are not taking place in that store.”
Brian Tuohy, an attorney for the local Chuck E. Cheese, said he was specifically scandalized by the store’s “fetish swings.”
But Hustler Hollywood’s lawyers successfully argued that many of the store’s products do not meet the strict definition of adult products.
“We operate in places where these communities have more restrictive adult definitions than they do here,” a Hustler Hollywood lawyer testified before a 2016 zoning hearing. “West Covina, Oklahoma City and St. Augustine, Florida have actually higher restrictions, and we are often willing to work with local authorities on these issues to ensure we are operating within the limits of the law.”
The March ruling also recognized that Indianapolis “of course, has the authority to investigate and enforce alleged violations of the code after the store has opened.”
