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Show No Surprise Pornography, smut, or whatever you want to call it has never been popular in a State like Utah. For this reason it was not particularly surprising when Summit County officials shut down the Opera House last week thus preventing the showing of "Deep Throat." "Deep Throat" has been the nemesis of every theater owner who has tried to run the film in Utah. A Magna theater owner last year was ruined by county officials and local police engaged in a personal vendetta against smut. However, facts prove that the vendetta seems to be against "Deep Throat", rather than smut in general. Several months ago, "Behind the Green Door," a film which reputedly, as far as blatent sex goes, makes "Deep Throat" look like "boy and his dog" type story, enjoyed an unharrassed showing in Park City. Recently that film ran in Salt Lake, again, unbothered by County officials or police, for several weeks. Unfortunately, "Deep Throat", has had the publicity afforded by "Time" and other weekly news publications, which has made the mere mention of the film in Utah, enough to make a mother hurridly gather her children off the streets as if anticipating a shoot-out. Mind you we do not, and we repeat, do not condone pornography in any shape or form. But when sheer publicity biases county officials as well as our law enforcement agencies towards anything be it a person or a film, then justice is not achieved. If we the people of Utah take a stand on pornography and instigate legislation to support that stand, we ought to make sure that enforcement of that legislation is carried out in an unbiased fashion with equality towards all concerned. |