Brighton, Michigan- Residents picketing outside a new adult video, lingerie and novelties store in Brighton Friday didn’t have a large group, but they came with a strong message.

With signs stating, “Pornography is an enemy of the family,” they walked alongside a busy Grand River Avenue on one of the busiest shopping days of the year to alert residents about what they consider a destructive seed being planted in their community, the opening of Intimate Ideas. The store, located at the intersection of Cross Street and Grand River Avenue, opened last week.

Members of this grass-roots group said they fear this store would cause other stores that sell pornography to sprout up in the Brighton area.

Brighton resident Carol Johns attended the picket for a very personal reason.

“Those are daughters, granddaughters and nieces that are doing that stuff in those movies, and it ruins their lives,” Johns said.

“I’m here because I have a granddaughter who aspires to be an actress,” Johns said.

Her granddaughter lives in Hollywood, and has told her she can get a job any day in an adult movie. Johns said her granddaughter refuses to take that path because she has seen it ruin other young women’s lives.

John said she hopes the protest causes “nobody to go there and they have to close down.”

One of the organizers, Hamburg Township resident Robin Blaszak, said the group received a lot of thumbs-up and horns in support of their effort.

Recognizing the protest was small, Blaszak said even one person with a sign can get a message out to residents that a store selling X-rated videos had opened.

“This is an atrocity,” Blaszak said.

“It’s a cancer,” she said about pornography. “You don’t ignore it. It will take over.”

Most of the protesters are members of Green Oak Township’s Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church.

Organizer Patrick Flynn said he wanted the protest to alert residents that “a destructive element to the Brighton community has come in and sat down.”

An employee inside the store declined to comment, and owner George Bernwanger was not available for comment.

Brighton resident Rachel Meade felt so angry about the store that she stopped to offer her support to the protesters.

“I completely support what they’re doing,” said Meade.

She has two young nephews, and she’s worried about children being exposed to pornography now that this store has opened.

“This is going to ruin generations,” Meade said.

Protester Marie Schlepers said pornography hurts men as much as women.

“It prevents men from being real, loving, respectful men,” Schlepers said.

This group was the same one upset about a risqué window display at Victoria’s Secret and who organized a letter-writing campaign on that issue.

Blaszak said the group would be holding more protests.

Officials in Brighton originally denied the store owner’s application to open the store. The owner filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the city, claiming the denial was a violation of his freedom of speech. After months of negotiations, the two parties reached a settlement, and the City Council approved the agreement in August.

Under the agreement, the city placed restrictions on how much adult materials Intimate Ideas could sell. Adult materials cannot exceed 20 percent of the store’s merchandise; the remaining 80 percent must be lingerie.

A sign outside the store says “must be 18 to enter” and blinds cover the windows to prevent people from seeing what’s inside.