Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1973: A local pastor appeared before the Clovis city commission to ask for a crackdown on pornography at newsstands and in the movies.
Rev. Stan White, pastor of Westbrook Baptist Church, said he felt the "floodgates of obscenity and smut have been closed" by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing local government more control in that area.
Clovis City Attorney Harry Patton, however, said the New Mexico Legislature had made it clear pornography guidelines were determined by the state.
White showed the commissioners two comic books he said were pornographic and sold in the Clovis city limits. The Clovis News-Journal reported the store that had sold the books was closed because of building code violations.
White went on to produce a proposed Bernalillo County ordinance aimed at controlling pornographic material and urged city officials to adopt something similar.
"I believe it is time we take action to rid obscene matter from Clovis," White said.
Commissioners voted to have Patton review the law regarding whether local entities could determine a definition for pornography.
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