"Taking our faith to action' WAGING AN UPHILL BATTLE AGAINST PORN A Quakertown man leads a group of Christian pickets trying to convince others to abandon their use of adult shops and theaters. (phillyBurbs.com)

Intelligencer, The (Doylestown, PA)

August 3, 2007
Section: LOCAL
Page: B1

"Taking our faith to action'
WAGING AN UPHILL BATTLE
AGAINST PORN
A Quakertown man leads a group of Christian pickets trying to convince others to abandon their use of adult shops and theaters.
Marion Callahan

THE INTELLIGENCER

A group is waging a war to end pornography in Pennsylvania.

Its battlefield: adult porn shops.

Its leader, Quakertown resident Mark Houck, is bringing his "No More Porn Tour" to adult shops and theaters in Philadelphia's five-county area, hoisting anti-porn signs that read "Real men love women" and "Real men don't exploit women."

His group, The King's Men, has been protesting Adult World in Montgomery Township since October, sometimes appearing weekly on the edge of the store's property on the corner of Route 309 and Upper State Road.

"It's something we decided to do as Christian men -- taking our faith to action. We're trying to reach out to men and women who are broken, seeking love in all the wrong places. We encourage a life of sexual self-control, and we have a great return on our investment."

On a typical visit, he said, the group can convince about a half dozen men not to enter the store and get back in their cars and leave. The group also invites patrons to attend meetings to help them resist pornography.

"Some give us the finger or tell us they're shopping for a friend," said Houck, who made it his "life's work" and his full-time job to rid the area of pornography.

The Christian-based group of about 30 area men protests twice a month at businesses selling pornography. Supported by private donations, they've traveled as far as Maryland to convince patrons to stop viewing and purchasing porn. "It's a multibillion-dollar industry; you can't just pray for it to go away.

"I used to have my own addiction to pornography for 15 years," said Houck. "I've found freedom in my life from these vices. I tell people; "Look brother, I've been there. You have to break the cycle.' I don't know if hearts have been transformed, but we think it's having an impact on the community."

Adult World's manager Amy Ganzel said it's certainly having an impact on sales.

"On the days they are there, we take a cut anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars, and it hurts us," she said. "It's hard enough for some people to come in, but then to be bombarded by these guys? Of course, they scare them away. And there is nothing we can do. Our Constitution allows them to say what they want to say, but they just can't step foot on the property."

Once, she was approached by the group. "They asked me not to go in, and I told them I had to. I work there. Then they offered to help find me another job," Ganzel said.

She said one member of the group did take the protest too far and faced a disorderly conduct fine from police last year.

Houck said the man charged with the misdemeanor was supporting the group but not part of it. He said the offense was a minor incident and the guy who was charged was simply blocking traffic, not behaving violently.

He said the group "acts within the confines of the law," standing outside the edge of the business's property. It will continue to protest as long as the store is open, he said.

"We do this to raise awareness not just to people going in, but people passing by. Maybe someone sees us who uses the Internet to look at something impure. Maybe we can remind them that what they're doing is not right. ...The other day we saw two women coming out with a big bag of stuff and we told them they "deserved better.' "

Houck said he's noticed that the shop has relocated its entrance and main parking area to the rear of the building.

"We like to think as a result of us going there, they are taking measures to give patrons more anonymity. Before we were within 6 feet of them. Now we have to yell out, since they are 50 to 100 feet away from us. It's hard to get them to hear us, but we still point to our signs."

Ganzel said the relocation of the entrance had nothing to do with the group's influence.

"We actually moved the entrance because we were expanding and we needed the room."

Marion Callahan can be reached at (215) 345-3166 or mcallahan@phillyBurbs.com.
August 3, 2007

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