Porn protest OK'd

OWNERS of a pornography store wanted a federal judge to tell The King's Men, a Christian men's group that protests outside its Montgomery County shop once a month, to beat it.

But it was The King's Men who got a happy ending in this tug-of-war when a judge last week shot down the porn store's motion for a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction.

As part of The King's Men's "No More Porn Tour," the group has protested outside the Montgomeryville Adult World store at least 80 times over the last five years, said King's Men president and co-founder, Mark Houck.

The protests are usually held the first Wednesday of each month, but the group plans to be there every day this week in honor of National Pornography Awareness Week, Houck said.

"Pornography is a violation of dignity against a human person," Houck said. "Whether you're single or married, pornography is taking the sacred - the human body - and perverting it."

Fighting pornography is one of The King's Men's "noble battles," according to the group's website. The two others are abortion and defense of traditional marriage.

In their motion, the owners of Adult World claimed, along with other complaints, that King's Men have trespassed on their property and caused a public nuisance.

A message left yesterday by the Daily News for a manager at Adult World was not immediately returned.

The store's owners also said that the protests infringed upon their rights to free speech and commercial expression, making it unduly difficult to conduct business.

But a federal judge found that the men were protesting on a public right-of-way that includes a "decorative, mulched floral area," according to the ruling, first reported by the online site Courthouse News Service.

Houck said that King's Men have buried "miraculous medals" that depict the Virgin Mary in the mulch and have sprinkled holy water around the grounds.

He claimed that King's Men protests have led to the shutdown of six pornography establishments and that he wants Adult World to be the seventh. They'll protest "as long as it takes," he said.