Staunton, Virginia- The Citizens Task Force made its plan Monday night to try to prevent more adult stores from coming to the Queen City.
The Task Force says the Valley and After Hours Video don’t mix, but after almost two weeks of being open, sales at the adult store may show just the opposite.
“We do not want their business in our city,” says Andrea Oakes, C.T.F.
She has said it before, but the Task Force isn’t giving up. They’re getting ready.
Oakes says, “What we are going to do is basically storm City Hall. We want to have several hundreds of people to attend the November 8th meeting.”
In the next few weeks, the group will spread the word.
“Pornography and the Valley do not mix,” says Oakes. “People come to the Valley for our history, for our beauty, and right now, for our fall foliage. They do not come for pornography.”
However, the business isn’t doing badly. After Hours Video owner Rick Krial was unavailable for comment, but store managers say that so far, it’s one of his best businesses in the state.
According to employees, after 12 days of being open, more than 375 customers have visited, and more than 130 of them have signed a petition inside the store protecting its First amendment rights.
“That’s fine they have the right to obtain signatures on a petition. We have over 3,000 signatures,” says Oakes.
Judy Turner cares most about the neighboring children.
“I have noticed in going past the store, a few cars there, but it doesn’t appear to me that it does have a huge business there,” says Turner.
Staunton City Council decided to postpone the vote on the adult store ordinance to November 8. Oakes says the City Attorney is taking every step possible, hoping to ensure that the ordinance is sound.