DAD Says No Porno

If you thought it was safe to go back to the adult video store, you might want to think again: DAD’s watching. The anti-porn Dallas Association for Decency boasts more than 350 active members and thousands of supporters, according to DAD’s founding father, E.F. Arnold.

DAD has tasted some victories in its crusade to keep Dallas from becoming another Times Square. The group lobbied the city council to pass the Sexually Oriented Business Ordinance, which prevents clustering of X-rated movie houses and bookstores, video stores, and motels that offer porno movies and hourly rates, The smut-free zoning change (so far has resulted in fourteen fewer sex businesses open ting in Dallas, Arnold says. And once charges are filed, members follow the case into court to be sure the punishment fits he crime.

In the future, Arnold’s group wants to put pressure on advertisers buying air time on radio stations that fea:ure “raunch” disc jockeys, such as KEGL’s Moby. Also in this works: a census of stores that carry X-rated or unrated videos. to be distributed in the hopes that consumers will choose to spend their money elsewhere.

Arnold doesn’t know how long it could take to rid Dallas of pornography. A DAD pamphlet claims, “Victory will come by a continuous chipping away.”

Critics might [wonder if that “chipping away” isn’t taking a chunk out of their First Amendment rights, but Arnold is undaunted. “I’ve met some wonderful people through DAD,” he says. ’I know we’re on the winning side.”