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The curiously toxic nature of pornography is also illustrated by the consistently negative impact that sex businesses have upon the areas in which they are located. This impact of sexually oriented businesses (SOBs) has been clearly demonstrated through land use studies. U.S. courts allow restrictive zoning of SOBs because such businesses have significant negative impacts on their surrounding communities. These impacts are called “secondary harmful effects” (as distinct from the primary harmful effects on the mind of the porn-user, which are not a constitutional basis for zoning ordinances). Such secondary harmful effects in neighborhoods with SOBs include a significant increase in property crimes and sexual crimes (including voyeurism, exhibitionism, and assault), and an overall decrease in property values. In the words of columnist George Will: “One doesn’t need a moral micrometer to gauge the fact that the sex industry turned Times Square into a slum.” Other examples of the negative impact of the sex industry include: Austin, TX: 1986 - in four study areas with SOBs, sexually related crimes were 177% to 482% higher than the city’s average. Indianapolis, IN: 1984-1986 - Between 1978-1982, crime in study areas was 46% higher than for the city as a whole. Sex related crimes were four times greater when SOBs were located near residential areas vs. commercial areas. Garden Grove, CA: 1981-1990 - On Garden Grove Blvd., seven adult businesses accounted for 36% of all crime in the area. In one case, a bar opened within 500 feet of an SOB and serious crime within 1000 feet of that business rose 300% during the next year. Phoenix, AZ: 1978 - Sex offenses, including indecent exposure, were 506% greater in neighborhoods with SOBs. Even excluding indecent exposure, the sex offenses were still 132% greater in those neighborhoods. Oklahoma City: During the years 1984 to 1989, Oklahoma City closed 150 out of 163 sexually oriented businesses. During the same period, reported rapes declined 27% in Oklahoma City while rising 19% in the remainder of the state. Law officers were aware of no other likely cause of the difference. 30 Porn magazines and rape rates: A number of studies have found “strong evidence of a very robust, direct relationship between the circulation rates of sex magazines [in a state] and rape rates,” 31 even after controlling for other variables. Police records: A study by Darrell Pope, a former Michigan State police officer, found that of 38,000 cases of sexual assault on file in Michigan over a 20 year period, 41% involved the use of pornography just prior to or during the act.
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