I couldn’t resist reporting on this. When a Lion’s Den (adult store) opened in Uniontown, Indiana, four years ago, I’m sure the owners were not prepared for the community reaction. Thirty-five residents have protested outside the Lion’s Den in shifts for four years—365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Their website boasts: this is the longest running protest against a sex business in the United States.
They are the Uniontown Watchdogs.
When a truck driver pulls into the Lion’s Den parking lot he sees a sign: “Warning Truckers. If you visit this adult bookstore we will take your picture and send it to your employer. Plus post it on website War-Line.net.” Similar signs warn other potential Lion’s Den customers. And the Watchdogs make good on their promises (their website features dozens of pictures of Lion’s Den patrons, many whom seem rather . . . um . . . irritated by the Watchdogs).
According to the owner, Ronald Stone, the business model estimated over 200 truck visits per night. However, 90% of the potential customers turn away when they see the signs. According to the protesters’ website, the Lion’s Den property is now up for sale, and two local buyers are soon to make offers on the property (to be used for anther type of business).
What else has the protest accomplished? One of the protesters signs offers free Bibles to Lion’s Den patrons: they’ve given away over 1,000 Bibles to date. Protesters have also prayed with customers who wanted help for addiction or relationship problems. The Watchdogs claim over 100 customers have prayed to accept Christ in the last four years. In addition, a parole officer from another county ran the plate numbers recorded by the Watchdogs and discovered several sex offenders violating their parole.
What do you think about this protest? Some have mentioned that the protesters are guilty of harassment and intimidation (Title 35, Article 45, Chapter 2 of the Indiana Code). Others say the protesters are merely exercising their first amendment right to assembly. Some say they are doing injustice to their anti-porn message with their methods. Others think they are being good concerned citizens doing their part to rid Uniontown of adult businesses.
Oh man, thanks for this. Your little ‘protest’ website has made my family and friends laugh so hard we almost fell out of our chairs.
I’m so glad we have people like you and your cadre around, because it helps keep organized religion to a minimum in this country by exposing how extreme and harmful they are, as well as hypocritical and ignorant.
By the way — you protested a porn store, and yet you post pictures of indecent exposure on your website?
Definition of pornography as per Websters dictionary: “The depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction”
All I can say is… LOL. Guess what? All those people sensationally exposing themselves to you to arouse a quick and intense emotional reaction from you? Interpretively, you run a website that shows pornographic pictures.
….GOTCHA! ;D
Finally the embarrassing circus is over. It’s one thing to protest. It’s another to harass a lot of innocent people. Where there some bad apples that went to the Lion’s Den? Sure there was. There are bad apples that go to Wal-Mart, gas stations, restaurants, bars and the list goes on. But by in large most weren’t.
Actions speak louder than words. Anybody with any sort of common sense can quickly see that the War Line website was solely setup to embarrass and judge people. For someone to say it wasn’t is clearly trying to underestimate people’s intelligence. Just as they judged so they will be judged.
Maybe since the protest is over the protesters will find something productive to do with their time. But I doubt it.
For those of you that aren’t from the area here’s an article from the local newspaper. At the bottom of the article are many comments from local people.
http://www.tribtown.com/news/celebrate-24168-lion-owners.html
This is a follow up to my previous comment. I noticed a couple of typos. The website for us is WAR-LINE.NET.
There were several other typos and I apologize.
Also, the Lion’s Den is now closed and they have packed up and moved out.
I’m from the Uniontown protest. I would like to clarify some assumptions some readers may have:
Our views are not extremest. Look on our website
-LINE.NEt and see the dangerous behavior happening around us 24/7. Uniontown is family residential of just 50 people with no police. The danger is obvious.
The Lion’s Den was in violation of three constitutionally correct ordinances. They didn’t care. It took 5 years to bring it to court but Indiana Superior Court found the Lion’s Den guilty violating all three ordinances.
The ordinances allow for the Lion’s Den to operate in Jackson County, just be 1,000 feet from residential neighborhood. They had over 100 locations they could operate but refused. The ordinance also allowed the Lion’s Den to operate for 18 months at their current location. The Lion’s Den ignored this.
The ordinance calls for ALL businesses to hold a simple business license. All businesses in Jackson County comply with this law EXCEPT the Lion’s Den who ignored this too.
Virtually every trucking company has strict policy of their trucks parked at a sex business. The reason is safety, insurance and public image. Prostituyion and drugs are rampet at sex business and thus danger and damage can take place. This effect insurance rates along with bad inage/advertising for the trucking company,
All companies have strict policy for workers not to use company computers to surf pornography. If a worker does this anyway and you see it, company policy requires you to inform managment. If the worker is fired for breaking company policy, who caused the termination. The employee who broke company policy or the person who turned him in? Same applies here.
To the person who say we retorted to her taking pictures of protesters, this is incorrect. If you look on our website you see people taking pictures of us all the time. Some have appeared on pro porn website. Google Uniontown Protesters and you will find some of them. We’ve never retorted to people taking pictures of us. If this person has such pictures please send them to us. We have a 24/7 digital camera traind on all activities and we can easily verify. A date would also be helpful.
We just ask anybody to look at the pictures of Lion’s Den customers on our website. Would you want this illegal, violent behavior around you family, children 24/7 365 days a year? If you wouldn’t want it next door to you, thane we are not as extreme as yu ming judge. The differance is we took action.
I’m a trucker and my employer is a major trucking company. My company is one of the top 5 trucking companies in the USA. My company as well as I find your group to be very UNAMERICAN. Our country was founded on Freedom and free speech; haven said that it is very disturbing that people in our country have such extremist views. As Americans we must stand for what is right and exterminate such radical views in our country. And I ask all American citizens in this country to join me against such radical views. And that we never shall allow such radicals as we did on 9/11 to infiltrate our country. That we stand united against such radicals. That we are the Land of the Free and United.
@Rose – I’m not quite sure why you call the protesters “unamerican.” Certainly many people who’ve commented here disagree with the views of the protesters, but why are they unamerican. If the nation is founded on freedom of speech, like you say, then aren’t the protesters exercising that very right? Freedom of speech means that people can have their “extremist views” and not be afraid to share them. Regardless of what you think of their views, I’m not sure how they could rightly be labeled “unamerican.”
You can’t reason with an individual or group that has such extremist views. They believe everything they are doing is justified because they say it’s in the name of God. They try to use embarrassment to force their beliefs on others. Unfortunately these are people we will see on the news. I live in Jackson County. I am scarred that people like this live so close to me and my family. As Americans we have all seen what radicals have done to this country. As Americans may we never forget….
I stopped in awile ago for my girlfriend to use the restroom, on our way out the protesters started taking pictures, so what… but when I got out of my pickup and started taking pictures of this lady she became enraged, she proceded to get on the phone and tell me she was calling the police, for what may i ask, i have pictures of this woman takin pictures of me and on the phone. the best part i would have to say is the fact that her side-kick was laughing at the whole ordeal (also seen in photos). I have to ask, what is up the the hypocrisy of your protestors, they saw nothing wrong with taking pictures of me, so why the the mean face when i take pictures of them, oh and a more direct response would be great as opposed to the generic
” Hi iam from the uniontown protest, please see our site”
About 99% trucking companies have policy of not parking at a sexually orienedt business. Main reasons are the image of the company but most important sexually oriented business are busy properties for prostitution and drugs. This affects insurance rates.
If you look on our website http://www.war-line.net you will see constant illegal and dangerous behavior by customers. Despite what you may think, our camera did not cause this behavior. It happens at every sex business where no police or residents keep watch.
Your closing sentence “. . . .really makes me wonder how you’ve survived this long,” shows you agree customers at sexually oriented business can be dangerous and violent.
We are a small town of just 50 people with no police. We twice prevented Lion’s Den customers assaulting a child in our community, three times stopped pimps setting up hookers at the Lion’s Den and interfered with drug activity there more times than we can count.
Yes, we agree with you in your comments “We’re doing all sorts of good!!!
I gotta tell ya…. Posting pictures of people, notifying their employer (which they may be on break, you do know truckers get lunch hours, and time to themselves while traveling as well right?) is none of your business… If i were a trucker and lost my job due to you mailing my boss, I’d drive a car right through your guard shack. Peddling bibles for your own self-rightous cause is more annoying than the people who would “normally” go into the store, get their stuff, and go home and enjoy it.You’re presence promotes their behavior as they are feeling “attacked” by you taking pictures and threatening their jobs/livelihood. How Christian is that? Ruining peoples lives? You’re doing all kinds of good!!! If my girlfriend and I want to use a little toy in bed there’s no reason why you should put our business online, whether it’s your “right” or not. It’s crappy, cowardly, and really makes me wonder how you’ve survived this long. Normally people like you get straightened out in high school…
Preserve freedom thats what you call what you are doing. OK everybody has on opinion of “freedom” I am curious to see how many of you protesting idiots wind up divorced now that the store is closed and you will have to spend time with your wives and children rather than your groupies. Your mission was accomplished, I hope you are proud of yourselves. I find you self rightous and egotistical.