It is currently unlawful to display anything that depicts homosexuality in Hampden.
An ordinance from 1997 outlines how explicit sexual content must be hidden from minors. That content includes “homosexuality.” Now the Town Council is looking at removing the language.
Municipalities across Maine occasionally find dated ordinances still in effect and contend with how to change them. In 2019, Bangor removed similar language from an ordinance that included homosexuality in a ban of obscene material. At the time, city officials weren’t sure how old the language was, but it dated from at least 1976.
Hampden will hold a public hearing in March to get residents’ input on the ordinance.
The town enacted the Regulations of Display of Materials Harmful to Minors ordinance 28 years ago when Maine relinquished management of adult entertainment zoning to local governments, Town Manager Paula Scott said at a Jan. 13 council workshop.
It limits how and where “sexual conduct” can be displayed throughout the town, including “acts of sodomy, masturbation, homosexuality, sexual intercourse.”
Most of the ordinance is reasonable and exists to keep explicit material away from children, Town Council Vice Chair James Bailey said at the meeting.
But, it includes a “very wide” amount of material, including things like people of the same gender kissing on magazine covers, he said.
“I don’t think this is a rampant problem but a principle on my part that we should not be considering homosexuality ‘sexual conduct’ and something to be hidden away,” Bailey said.
Bailey discovered the language while looking for an unrelated ordinance and raised the issue with the town manager.
Homosexuality is not something that should be considered offensive, Scott told the Bangor Daily News. It shouldn’t be criminalized and a store owner shouldn’t face repercussions either, she said.
An ordinance change must be discussed in a public hearing. It will likely be scheduled for March alongside other public hearings, Scott said.
