Abilene, Kansas- Usually it takes a presidential visit or something of that magnitude to bring national press to Abilene. But since their story was picked up last week by USA Today, members of Operation Daniel have been drumming up interest all around the nation as they fight against the “obscenity” they claim was brought to the county by the Lion’s Den Adult Superstore.
Yesterday, more than 40 protesters lined up along Fair Road across from the Lion’s Den, each hoping to catch a bit of the action while cameras from the national television news show Inside Edition rolled.
Typically there are two or three protesters out at “the site,” as organizer Phil Cosby dubbed it. Their signs claiming “Think again or we report” sit next to the road, while the protesters sit in their warm vehicles if the weather is cold. But the group braved 30 mile-per-hour winds and freezing rain Tuesday to show their dedication to the cause. Each protester held a sign as well.
“Look at all these soldiers!” Cosby exclaimed when he saw the large group.
Although Inside Edition had received calls about this sort of protest in the past, correspondent Paul Boyd said when he noticed the story on page three of last Thursday’s USA Today, his editors took notice.
“When you get these adult stores popping up along the Interstates in rural areas, a lot of times it’s overtaking these people’s very way of life,” Boyd said. “And we have a lot of viewers who fall into that category and are concerned about the issue.”
Boyd spoke with supporters of each side of the issue, including Lion’s Den field manager Sandi Summers. Despite the fact that a grand jury has been called to investigate allegations of violations of the state obscenity laws, Summers says she “isn’t concerned at all” about the store being forced to close.
“Everything in here is legal goods and protected under the First Amendment,” she said. “I can understand (the protesters’) concern, but anyone who enters this store has to be 18 and have a valid form of identification. If someone doesn’t want to come in here they don’t have to. We’re not out on the streets pandering our goods. We’re a legal business. It’s not the product we sell that causes problems in a community, it’s the mind of the person using the product.”
Heather Needham, a local supporter of the Lion’s Den, also had a chance to make her voice heard round the nation. Needham says she “loves the store, and there are a lot of people here who do.”
Needham’s claim about the “lots of people” in support of the store are right on target, says Summers.
“At least 80 percent of our customers are local or from the surrounding area,” Summers said. “And the other 20 percent is traffic off the highway.”
That highway traffic, truckers in particular, is the target of the protest, says Cosby. In essence, only 20 percent of those entering the store are the people who the Daniels are trying to keep out, not the other 80 percent who live in the area.
“We’re not targeting locals,” Cosby said. “We’re out here doing this for them. We’re doing it to protect the community and our children from what happens when these stores come into a community.”