Operation Southwind Files Another Complaint

Monday, Aug. 29, 2005

At city hall, those with Operation Southwind step up their crusade to wipe out adult stores in Wichita. The group is now officially filing obscenity complaints with the police chief against nine more shops that sell porn.

If the police don’t press charges against these x-rated businesses, the group plans to collect enough signatures to send this set to a grand jury, as well.

It worked the first time around. Next month, a grand jury will decide if seven shops sell materials that break the law.

While pornography is protected, obscenity isn’t. Operation Southwind got the grand jury after turning in more than 6,000 signatures, thousands more than they needed. For this next push against porn, they hope to get 4,000 out of around 10,000 registered voters, who oppose those materials be sold.

If a grand jury decides selling these materials doesn’t break the law, this group says it will just start this process over again. There are still more stores out there.

The grand jury hearing on the first seven stores is set to begin Sept. 18. It could take up to three months to complete.

Those with Operation Southwind say they’ll be ready to file a grand jury petition for the next nine stores in the next few months.