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Phillip Cosby was a month away from retiring from the U.S. Army. With a 22-year military career ending, Cosby found a second calling as an outspoken anti-pornography crusader. Cosby placed an ad in the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle seeking men to join his battle with the Lion's Den; 140 responded, according to the September issue of KC Business. Cosby and Eubanks formed a coalition of churches, pastors and local residents called Citizens for Strengthening Community Virtues. A two-year legal battle with the Lion's Den and its customers followed.

On November 6, 2003, Cosby and Eubanks returned with the Dickinson County sheriff for a shopping spree at the Lion's Den. Eubanks says the sheriff told them that buying the sex toys and videos "was the best way to collect evidence." According to a February 14, 2004, article in the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle, Dickinson County taxpayers picked up the $1,332.71 tab for 36 items charged to a Sheriff's Office credit card. Among the DVDs and sex toys were black handcuffs for $7.95, a 36-inch whip for $61.95 and an anatomically correct inflatable pig (named Ms. Piglet) for $21.95.

Cosby's group launched "Operation Daniel," a 100-day picket named after the prophet Daniel, who was cast into a den of lions but was spared because of his faith in God. They picketed the Lion's Den in shifts, like striking union members.

Picketers began to target anyone who pulled into the parking lot. They jotted down license-plate numbers from semis and called the trucking companies to out the drivers who had stopped at the sex shop. They called businesses that owned company cars spotted outside the place. They called wives and fami­ly members of locals who shopped there.

Responses to the phone calls were mixed.

"Some companies responded very favorably. And we're glad we called them," Eubanks recalls. "Others didn't seem to care much."

Thanks to the pickets, business at the Lion's Den dropped by 30 percent, and 75 percent of the truckers kept driving, Cosby bragged to Christian newswire AgapePress in January 2004. The Lion's Den declined to comment on Cosby's efforts.

The campaign wasn't about hurting business at the Lion's Den, says the Rev. Mike Keating, pastor of Emanuel United Methodist Church in Abilene, where Cosby was a parishioner. The point, Keating says, was to make the shopping habits of Lion's Den customers known to their friends, family and employers. "Overall, people were appreciative and polite because it was handled in that tone," Keating says.

Meanwhile, Cosby ran for Dickinson County Commissioner on a values campaign. At the height of his celebrity, Cosby finished third out of five candidates in the primary election, receiving 452 votes.

Cosby also petitioned for a grand jury, which found that the Lion's Den sold obscene items, including dildos, strap-on devices and fake vaginas. The charges were thrown out because of a clerical error. But a year later, Dickinson County filed 10 new charges of obscenity against the Lion's Den for selling blow-up dolls, artificial vaginas and an artificial mouth.

Cosby's efforts had a fatal flaw. He relied on a 1986 law that made dildos and artificial vaginas illegal. The law had been thrown out by the Kansas Supreme Court in 1990. In that case, prosecutors had charged Wichita adult-bookstore owner Randy L. Hughes with obscenity for selling undercover cops "The Sexplorer Pleasure System," a vibrator kit with a dildo attachment, and "Miss World," an inflatable doll with an artificial vagina. The high court declared the statute unconstitutional because "the Legislature may not declare a device obscene merely because it relates to human sexual activity."

Because the Kansas Legislature hadn't rewritten the unconstitutional portion of the statute, District Court Judge Robert D. Innes had no choice but to throw out the case against the Lion's Den.

Cosby didn't think of the cases as failures. "If you look at the big picture with what's happening in Kansas in general, the event in Dickinson County is a spark that has gone off across Kansas," Cosby told the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle. "Nothing is in vain."

At the Lion's Den, a final, silent protest remains. A billboard on westbound I-70 reads: "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. Pornography destroys families." On the back side, it continues: "Jesus heals and restores. Pornography destroys."

Inside the Lion's Den, Ms. Piglet, the inflatable pig doll purchased by the county as part of Cosby's campaign, sits on a shelf like a victory trophy.

But Cosby is long gone.

Not long after his legal failures in Abilene, Cosby tried his game plan again in Wichita and Salina. A grand jury failed to bring charges against two Salina stores. But in Wichita, grand juries have indicted six video stores in cases that are awaiting jury trials.

In April 2006, Cosby left Abilene for Kansas City to run the local chapter of the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families. Cosby's goals matched those described in the coalition's 2006 annual report, which defines its mission as "[to] educate the Christian community on sexual ethics according to a biblical worldview; encourage and challenge Christians to live sexually pure lives; engage Christians in public policy relative to sexual ethics; embrace those harmed by pornography and help restore them to sexual wholeness."

Cosby had turned his distaste for pornography into lucrative jobs for himself and his wife, Cathy, who also works for the National Coalition and "has been an integral part of her husband's aggressive confrontation of the sex industry since September 2003," according to her biography on the organization's Web site. Cosby's salary isn't listed on the coalition's most recent tax form, filed on June 30, 2006. But the salary of his predecessor is listed as $70,934.

In Kansas City, Cosby found an ally with deep pockets — Bill Dunn Sr., chairman emeritus of J.E. Dunn Construction. Dunn didn't return several calls to his office seeking comment, but a July 2006 article in The Kansas City Business Journal touted Dunn's 25-year campaign against pornography. Dunn told the paper that he sponsored three lunch meetings with Cosby to show off his strategy to a group of local pastors.

Dunn made headlines in 2005 for a 10-minute rant at the annual Mayors' Prayer Breakfast in which he decried the sharp downward trend of values in America and blamed activist judges, the American Civil Liberties Union, gay marriage and illegitimate births. Dunn's speech angered then-Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes; in response, she boycotted the next year's breakfast.

Write Your Comment show comments (12)

  1. The last time I wrote to The Pitch, it was in the hope that someone would listen to the need for a felony level provision in the animal cruelty state statute in Kansas. Thanks to media coverage, Power For Paws was launched, and Kansas now has legislation. The point is that without the freedom of speech, animals abusers would still go unpunished.

    In a broad prospective, I do not see the issue of pornography any differently. It is freedom of speech. However, I must agree that films or magazines involving anything other than consensual and legal sex is not appropriate (for example - rape, sex with minors/animals). Otherwise, let people have their sex toys, watch their porno movies, and mind your own business! To Mr. Cosby, I would say, "Save your bible beating dialogue for someone that wants to hear it!"

    Lee Brand

    Comment by Lee Brand — October 24, 2007 @ 08:24PM

  2. The problem here is a minister who sees that he is failing in teaching people good Biblical morals, so instead of teaching people, he is switching to forcing them not to sin.

    No one disagrees that certain things are a sin in God’s eyes, but God did create humans to make that choice. He didn’t put the tree of knowledge somewhere that Adam and Eve could not reach. It was within easy reach and they knew the penalties for eating from it. It should be noted that the only knowledge they gained was the experience of committing sin.

    The minister is doing what so many failed ministers have done over the decades. Christ didn’t say to remove sin, he said t:
    Preach God’s Word;
    Teach God’s Word to others; and
    Teach them how to preach and teach.

    I would be willing to wager that he has nearly completely failed in this, limiting the knowledge of preaching to only the elite, with most of his flock not knowing much more than Bible Stories told small children. And even than, they will be significantly mixed with mythology.

    He should stick with what Christ instructed him to do. Going beyond that presumes that he is equal to or better than Christ and can decide for himself what is best for the world at large.

    Comment by George — October 25, 2007 @ 04:45PM

  3. Personally as a Christian and the parent of a young child I am glad to see this being brought to the attention of the general public. I am tired of turning off the TV, avoiding magazine isles, avoiding certain stores, etc. because the amount of sexually suggestive material that is out in the general public. It's not just specific stores that sell this type of material, it is everywhere you go today. I don't want the public teaching my child about sex, or what they consider sexually appropriate-THAT IS MY JOB AS HER PARENT!

    Too many in todays society believe this is a freedom of speech issue. Personally I don't think so, it is infringing on my rights to parent and educate my child on matters of sexual moraity. Children and younger and younger ages are beig exposed to perverse sexual ideas, and being so trusting and immature they believe what they are being exposed to is acceptable. As a result I believe we will be seeing more profound sexual perversions as this next generation grows up due to the typee and amount of exposure they are currently experiencing.

    Allowing such filth to be "out there" is a banner cause of the liberals. They use the beliefs of the founding fathers of this nation to justify this cause. The pilgrims came to America so that they could worship without persecution from the English church. It was this principle that the Constitution of the United States was founded. I doubt that they ever envisioned it being used to promote sexual promiscuity.

    Jesus may not have said that it is our mission to remove sin from this earth, but he did say that we had an obligation to point out the sin and guide the sinner away from this behavior. As Chrisitians we all have an obligation to point out the sins within ourselves, and society as a whole. The midwest is rapidly going from the bible belt to one of sexual depravity. We may not be as sexually depraved as other cities, but that is not an award that I would personally want for anyone to acquire.

    If you choose to stand on the premise that these people have a right to sell this smut, then ask yourself this question-How would you feel if your child or grandchild came home and told you that they were doing the same thing that you condoned? Probably with sadness, anger, dismay, and shock. But you should not be, as you have either verbally or non-verbally told them that it is acceptable to you and your family. children learn by example, what type of example are you showing future generations of your family?

    Comment by Nancy — October 26, 2007 @ 09:20AM

  4. The fact that the good pastor is so afraid of masturbation is probably the source of his frustration. My opinion.

    Comment by Lonnie — October 26, 2007 @ 01:53PM

  5. To be brief, I find it shocking that religious beliefs can be projected onto others to a degree of delegating what product a person may or may not purchase based on those views. I dont feel that is morally right. I would not want to try to impose my beliefs and thoughts onto someone else to a degree of control. However simply, I think if things like these were not a big deal they would not be so bad. In short, people are wierd... really wierd, they have urges and theres nothing wrong with that.

    On a lighter note, I was wondering who that gorgeous girl was who graced the cover and inside story for this issue. Without making a complete ass out of myself I will simply say she was looking really cute in that cop outfit. I looked for a name throughout the issue, (only have so much time to read the pitch on my work break!) but did not find any. Maybe i missed it, but wanted to make sure she got her recognition. So I will leave it at that, wondering who she is, and paying a compliment.

    Keep it up, I will read as always

    cheers.

    Comment by Sam — October 28, 2007 @ 10:40PM

  6. Methinks Cosby doth protest too much. He sure seems to enjoy buying up sex toys and videos for his "evidence" collection. What do we think the chances are that Cosby's got a little Ted Haggard in him? Pun fully intended, thank you.

    Comment by Corey — October 31, 2007 @ 09:26AM

  7. You know what I find obscene? The fact that taxpayer money and time is being wasted on some religious nut's personal crusade. Fortunately the first amendment protects us from people like this, who are little better than fascists in that they want to impose their will on everyone else.

    All of you who are for this, get a clue. Not everyone shares your beliefs, get over it. Church and state are separated in this great nation of ours, so don't mix the two by bringing frivolous crap like this to court, be it civil or criminal. These stores also aren't going to see any of this "obscene" material to your kids, so stop trying to use children as a shield for your own insecurities. If they get it from anywhere, they'll probably get it from your own stash, or there's always the internet. You know what would be best for the kids? If you actually show some responsibility as a parent, take them aside, and talk to them - explain sex and morality to them. The very worst thing you can do is to treat adults like children. In fact, this picketing, writing down license plates, calling businesses and homes, and assembling grand juries to try cases that will fail is the height of infantile behavior. Mind your own business and keep your nose out of mine or anyone else's for that matter.

    Why not expend your time and energy on something more worth while? Like say stopping the violence in schools, which is a much larger threat to your children? Why not get that church group together to do some charity work? Put a food pantry together and organize donations for the poor? Organize soup lines and volunteer down at the homeless shelters? Pick up litter down at the local park? Organize after-school activities for children? Sponsor a local scout troop? You know, something that would actually involve spending some time with those children and keeping them occupied where you can keep an eye on them?

    Comment by LT — November 6, 2007 @ 12:49AM

  8. It's always time for "Tittie Time".

    Comment by Jimmy John — November 6, 2007 @ 01:44PM

  9. As a child I was raised in a pentecostal church, and I will tell you that force feeding a child religion will backfire upon you in the long run, but the fact that I am open enough to share my views on sexuality and the perversions that everyone has different opinions on, my children are more educated because they NEED TO BE! And if you do not start with this education at an early age they will find it somewhere else without your knowledge. So if you consider that I sell Passion PArties as a great sin, I want to ask a question that I think you really need to think about! Would you rather watch the divorce rate continue to climb, OR would you encourage people to enjoy themselves in their OWN homes with some of the aids or "smut" that you call it, and build a stronger relationship by opening a line of communication between them? I personally have set a goal to bring that divorce statistic down by opening the minds of the people who I am blessed enough to be invited into their homes to show them the products I sell. Should a 14 yr old know about all things, NO, but that is the job of the parent to make them aware of what is going on in the world! Masturbation by no means is a sin, but something that we as humans need to do to find what makes us happy and that we can communicate when we do find the partner for life so we will stay happy together longer! I personally dont see how this CRUSADE is helping our communities because again it is just taking away another RIGHT as an American to enrich our lives the way we want to. Again governments form of THINKING for us!!!! I ramble sorry this a definite subject of interest to me!!

    Comment by Dusty King — November 7, 2007 @ 06:35PM

  10. #2, you seem wise, and should be holding lectures for all those in the religious right trying to control our country! Amen to your true moral wisdom.

    Comment by carla — November 9, 2007 @ 12:00PM

  11. #3
    Let she who is without sin cast the first stone...
    Judge not, lest ye be judged
    Listen to #2... it is NO MAN's place to try to control what "sin" is accessible, or allowed, or not. You can say you think it's a sin. But you have no right, no one does, to STOP others from choosing to "sin" if they want to. Including your children.
    Teach them your beliefs...but they are individuals in the eyes of God too, with their own choices to make. It is you job just to love them.

    I was lucky enough to have a mother who, when I was confused by the world around me as a child, and asked her it would be OK when I grew up if I loved a black man, or another woman, she simply said:
    "If you're happy, I would love and support you no matter what. But I would feel bad for you to have to face the world, because other people can be cruel and make your choices difficult for you."

    I ended up being pretty straight, but I know if she'd been heavily opinionated and oppressive, I would have rebelled against it.

    Comment by carla — November 9, 2007 @ 12:09PM

  12. The fact that somebody thinks they can force there opinion on other people is an insault.I happen to love porn,but you don't see me out picketing churches becuse ,they don't have a naked choir.If you are 18 years old and you want to put a dildo in your butt so be it. It's not your butt its not my butt nor is it your or my money. This is a store you I and everybody knows sells sexual products if you don't want yourself or your kids to see these things drive on by I'll wave at you. (YOU ARE NOT REALLY AN AMERICAN) when you call a truck drives wife because he's buying a mag, or calling his work. You can picket all you want.that's your right. Voice your opinion,don't try to voice mine.

    DC Jan 8,2008

    Comment by dan — January 8, 2008 @ 08:44PM

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