A U.S. District Judge has ruled in favor of the sale of sex toys at a Brookhaven shop, the Daily Report reported. It's the latest development in the city's two-year efforts to stop the smoke shop from violating a local ordinance.
In November, the city sought an injunction to stop the Stardust shop from selling sex toys, according to the report. U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross halted that injunction in last week’s ruling.
Brookhaven lawyers called Stardust manager Michael Morrison “a veteran sex shop operator illegally opening a sexually oriented business while a new city was in transition.” They also pointed out that Morrison has “an extensive history of waging such battles” and that he had “proclaimed in a television interview that he’ll ‘fight this to the Supreme Court,’” according to the report.
Morrison previously owned a string of metro Atlanta stores called Inserection that specialize in “adult fantasy” merchandise and has repeatedly challenged local laws restricting the sale of some merchandise.
Brookhaven leaders have said it is not an issue of free speech, but local ordinances regulate the location and operation of stores selling sex toys.
“In its haste to assert that this case has no First Amendment implications, the city has failed to show how its ordinance does not affect the in-store display of merchandise, and it has not addressed the standards of protection of commercial speech,” the judge said.
Stardust shares a property line with the Pink Pony strip club, which has been in operation for 22 years. In October, the Brookhaven City Council voted to negotiate with the strip club to determine if the business could operate in compliance with a local ordinance.
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