STAUNTON, Va. - City prosecutor Raymond C. Robertson has vowed to keep adult-oriented businesses out of Staunton. Robertson could have his work cut out for him though, as the state statute he’s used for years to keep porn out of the city may not be as powerful as he thought.
“We are not going to allow dissemination of pornographic material in Staunton,” Robertson told the Staunton News Leader. “I have used [state statute 18.2-372] for decades to keep pornographic movies out of Staunton. And we haven’t had an X-rated movie in town since.”
Staunton does not currently have any zoning laws on the books prohibiting adult-oriented businesses from setting up shop within the city. Though uniformly prohibiting adult businesses is a violation of the Constitution, cities can legally regulate such businesses through zoning codes.
“For us, it’s a land-use issue,” city attorney Doug Guynn told the News Leader. “[Staunton] does not regulate adult business as such.”
“People have to realize that obscenity has a specific legal definition that has to be met in order to convict someone,” local attorney Josh Wheeler told the News Leader. “It is not simply material that involves nudity or is offensive.”
