With tax revenues in the toilet, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback’s administration has hit upon a unique revenue-generating idea. According to the Kansas City Star and a myriad of other news sources, the state is selling thousands of adult novelty items, from lingerie to handcuffs, in an online auction due to the failure of a chain of erotic stores to pay state sales, income, and withholding taxes in Kansas.

The idea that the Brownback administration was selling pornography on the Internet was mindboggling. How could such a longtime vocal advocate of traditional values condone such an activity? I wanted to call the Rev. Pat Robertson, Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson, and the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins – all longtime and enthusiastic Brownback supporters – and ask them if they thought any of this was kosher.

According to the Kansas City Star’s Matt Campbell, “The merchandise was seized in July by the Kansas Department of Revenue from five adult stores in Kansas City, Kan., Topeka, Wichita and Junction City. The owner, United Outlets LLC, doing business as Bang, owes the state $163,986.”

Among the items being sold by Equip-Bid.com are a “fantasy love swing” in black and a 16-foot “Japanese silk love rope” in purple. Thankfully, the items are “all new and in the original packaging,” Campbell noted.

“Brownback is so desperate to fill the massive hole in the state budget caused by his reckless income tax cuts that the state of Kansas is now in the porn business,” Kansas Senate Democratic leader Anthony Hensley said, pounding away at Brownback.

Brownback’s office issued a response to Hensley: “While we do not agree with the type of business involved here, it was nonetheless a legal business that was closed due to failure to pay taxes,” the statement said.

PureHope, which claims that its “vision is a world free of sexual exploitation and brokenness, and we work toward that through our mission of providing Christian solutions in a sexualized culture, published the following statistics on its website, under the heading “Christians and Pornography”:

  • “According to pastors, the 8 top sexual issues damaging to their congregation are: 57% pornography addiction, 34% sexually active never-married adults, 30% adultery of married adults, 28% sexually active teenagers, 16% sexual dissatisfaction, 14% unwed pregnancy, 13% sexually active previously married adults, and 9% sexual abuse. (More Sex, Please, Christianity Today International, Winter 2005)”
  • “50% of all Christian men and 20% of all Christian women are addicted to pornography. (Market Wire. August 7, 2006. ChristiaNet.com. December 7, 2006)”
  • “51% of pastors say cyberporn is a possible temptation. 37% say it is a current struggle (Christianity Today, Leadership Survey, December 2001). 4 in 10 pastors have visited a porn site (Christianity Today, Leadership Survey, December 2001).”

In the end, might it be that Brownback, engaged in a tough re-election battle, is merely playing to his base?