City of Sandy Springs Repeals Sexual Device Law

By: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer

After threat of Court Rehearing Case, Legal Fees, City Repeals Sex Device Bill

In what a few are calling caving in while others are saying this was expected, last night, March 21, 2017, the Sandy Springs City Council repealed subsection (c) of Section 38-120 in Article IV of Chapter 38 of the city’s municipal code.

Know to the adult entertainment industry as the “sexual device” ordinance. There was no pre-meeting leaks indicating that the city was going to move forward with repealing their outrageous law. In fact, before the vote was even taken, there was no discussion on the repeal bill.

According to sources inside the city council this was in part due to the fact that it had been placed on the “consent” agenda which is usually reserved for action items city leaders are content with allowing to move ahead without further debate.

Plus what is also being considered another reason for the rush to repeal the city’s bill was the fact that the local ordinance was patterned on one that had been adopted by the state legislature, but that was later invalidated, leaving Sandy Springs one of a few districts in the Atlanta area that retained a similar ban.

“[The] code now matches up with state law regarding adult devices by not prohibiting the sale of such devices,” said Sharon Kraun, a spokesperson for the Sandy Springs city council.

While council members refused to comment on the repeal after the vote, City Attorney Wendell Willard told reporters that the law, which was enacted in 2009 and has been the subject of several lawsuits, was “unnecessary and expendable.  We don’t really have a problem with it [sexual device sales] in the city. “Why continue with the litigation?” said Willard.