St. George passes standards measure

ST. GEORGE -- Passing a resolution that promotes a "child- appropriate standard in the city of St. George" sends a positive message that reflects community values, St. George Councilman Larry Gardner said.

"It's really a simple statement of community standards," he said of the resolution passed unanimously by the City Council last week. "It's a proactive, positive statement. If any issue comes before the council about our community standards, we can point to this resolution and say the city says 'no' to certain types of objectionable businesses."

The resolution says St. George has a vested interest in promoting the health, safety and welfare of children in the community and encourages all businesses, schools and public institutions to voluntarily protect children from sexually explicit and inappropriate material. The St. George resolution is modeled after similar ones passed in various cities around the state, including Bountiful, South Jordan, Sandy, Centerville, Lehi and a dozen others.

Citizens for Families, a Utah nonprofit group, promotes the resolutions on its Web site, strengthenthefamily.net. Members are encouraged to help create communities where "everything inappropriate for children is out of their sight."

The Web site identifies numerous retail outlets around the state that cover up magazines deemed offensive by the group, including a nutrition store in Bountiful that paints shirts on "immodest displays."

A self-help guide to "passing a child-appropriate resolution in your city" is included on the site, as are e-mail addresses for news media and various national retail chains.

St. George attorney Shawn Guzman said the city's resolution is "pretty benign" because it doesn't impose a standard on others.

"We left it vague on purpose because it's too hard to define community standards," he said. "The council felt strongly that businesses were already doing a good job with this and they wanted to thank them and to encourage more businesses to do the same."

Guzman said the city receives few calls from people offended by what they see on store shelves.

"We have had complaints in the past, but that has changed with the advent of DVD sales, cable TV and satellite dishes," he said. "I think the last complaint we had was a year ago for the cover of a video."

Gardner said the resolution was also passed as a reminder that St. George does not want a business such as Bikini Cuts, whose hairstylists wear bikinis at work, to set up shop in town.

E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com

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