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Renston Vs Playtime Theater Case Study

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In Renton, Washington during 1986, Playtime Theaters purchased two movie theater locations in hopes of broadcasting movies of Adult films for public entertainment. The city of Renton placed a zoning ordinance in previous years prohibiting that adult films cannot be located within 1,000ft of a resident, church, park, or school. Playtime Theaters felt that the city of Renton location ordinance was a violation of the First and Fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution. Playtime Theaters decided to file a suit in Federal District Court seeking an injunction and declaratory judgment claiming that their First and Fourteenth amendment were violated, because of the type of films that they were going to showcase. On November 12, 1985, …show more content…

Playtime theaters, Inc. I would have to agree with the majority that Renton was not in violation of restricting Adult theaters to certain locations. There are many factors throughout this year long case that proves Renton was not in the wrong and had a right to put restrictions for the overall safety of the community. Playtime Theaters, Inc. tried to argue that their first and fourteenth amendments were constitutionally violated. If one takes a closer look at the ordinance that the city of Renton enacted in April, 1981, it prohibited any Adult motion picture theater from being located within 1,000 ft. of any residential zone, single- or multiple-family dwelling, church, or park, and within one mile of any school. “The court found that the Renton ordinance did not substantially restrict First Amendment interests…the purposes of the ordinance were unrelated to the suppression of speech, and that the restrictions on speech imposed by the ordinance were no greater than necessary to further the governmental interests involved” (1986, p.475). Overall, the city of Renton enacted this ordinance to protect the secondary affects that Adult film theaters can have on a community, not to purposely restrict sexual content for the viewing of the …show more content…

Rather the court of appeals, justified that Renton’s zoning ordinance was based on content and location which was applicable for the protection of the community. If Renton was not looking out for the safety of the community, I can see how the respondents could have won this case. The respondents did not have enough, factual based evidence showing that Playtime theaters would not have negative impact on the community. I think in this overall case; Playtime Theaters didn’t have solid evidence defending The City of Renton concerns for the secondary effects that Adult motion films can have on the surroundings of its

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