CRYSTAL CITY, Missouri- www.stltoday.com — The owner of a sexually themed store that was ordered to close its doors for a month has filed a suit against the city, demanding to remain open seven days a week.

The Pure Pleasure Megacenter, in the 2300 block of North Truman Boulevard, opened in 2005 after a long battle to get a business license.

City officials originally denied the license, citing an inadequacy of lighting in the store and the lack of an approved floor plan. City residents and business owners in the same shopping plaza protested the store, saying it would draw a criminal element and lower property values. Outside a court hearing, an opposition group held signs that read, “Pornography is not a First Amendment Right.”

Ultimately, Pure Pleasure’s owner, Don Kleinhans, appealed the denial, and the city was forced to grant him a license.

But after the store opened, the city enacted an ordinance that said “sexually oriented businesses” could only open during certain hours and could not conduct business at all on Sunday.

“We feel as though we’re being discriminated against,” Kleinhans said in an interview.

Kleinhans pointed out that similar stores in nearby areas are allowed to do business on Sundays, putting him at a competitive disadvantage. He said he has tried to talk to city officials about the matter, but the city did not responded.

So, in March, the store stayed open on two Sundays, earning two citations from police. At the end of the month, the city ordered the store closed for 30 days for violating city code.

Earlier this month, Kleinhans’ attorney, Robert Kister, filed suit in circuit court in Hillsboro. The suit asks the court to order the city to stop issuing tickets and to allow the store to remain open seven days a week.

“The blue laws are gone,” Kleinhans said. “This is a restriction against trade.”

Under an agreement between Kister and city attorney David Senkel, the store is open while the case is pending.

Senkel said that an ordinance identical to Crystal City’s was upheld in March by a federal court in Kansas City.