WEST COVINA — Little Johnny’s free peep-show days are likely to come to an end in West Covina.
Convenience stores that sell pornographic magazines are not required by city ordinance to keep them behind blinder racks or behind the counter.
However, the City Council will likely vote tonight to adopt such an ordinance.
“The search for the almighty dollar should not have primacy over respecting the values of our society,” said Councilman Roger Hernandez, who brought the issue to the attention of the council. “They shouldn’t be displayed blatantly in front of a child’s eye level.”
Covina resident Sandra Solis, a mother of three, went to a gas station mini-mart in West Covina one day and got an eye-full of naughty magazines on display within a child’s reach.
“I was just surprised and kind of disgusted,” Solis said. “It was the first thing I saw. It was before the chips, before the water and all that.”
Solis took her concerns to Hernandez, who said he also saw a similar display at a convenience store on the south side of the city.
Mayor Shelley Sanderson, who has also taken her three sons to convenience stores with the magazines in eye-shot of her children, was surprised to learn West Covina does not have an ordinance regulating the display of pornography.
“It was a little uncomfortable when you take your children,” Sanderson said. “Roger bringing this up was definitely necessary.”
At Keg Liquor in West Covina, pornographic magazines sit behind the counter and are covered up. Even racy, non-pornographic magazines — like Maxim and FHM — are strategically stacked so the women who adorn the covers are not over-exposed.
‘We got to keep it away from minors,” said Keg Liquor clerk Charlie Boggs. “We’re very strict on booze. … Don’t mess with the minors.”
Although he supports the ordinance, Councilman Mike Miller said it would not have much teeth, since the city only has two code enforcement officers.
“The ability to enforce would be one problem,” he said, adding the bulk of citations issued would have to come from residents’ complaints.