By Rusty Pugh and Jenni Parker

AGAPEPRESS – What began as a class project resulted in a major victory against pornography for a home-school graduate now attending college in Virginia. Thanks to her persistent efforts, another Movie Gallery facility has stopped offering X-rated videos.

Naomi Harralson was home-schooled from third grade through high school and is now a junior majoring in government at Patrick Henry College (PHC) in Purcellville. During the 2002 spring semester, an instructor in a class called Principles of Leadership challenged Harralson and her classmates to be problem solvers and to take initiative to address social problems.

Discussing with students some of the social issues plaguing even their own community, the teacher mentioned a local video store’s suspected distribution of pornographic material. Picking up on that example, Harralson and a few other students decided to tackle the issue of pornography.

Harralson proceeded to help organize, initiate, and lead a campaign against pornography in the community. Her efforts ultimately caused Movie Gallery to close the obscenity-stockpiled “back room” of its Purcellville store.

The PHC junior feels that, rather than choosing this battle, she and her colleagues were chosen for it. “A lot of times, I think, when we realize that we’re called to do something,” she says, “it has to do more with where God places us at a certain time – and not so much, necessarily, with what we would choose to do.”

Putting a lock on MG’s back door
The success story began when Harralson decided to tackle local porn pushers head-on as part of her Principles of Leadership class project. In addition to verifying the information about Purcellville’s Movie Gallery store, she researched national, state, and local obscenity laws and legal precedents.

In the course of her investigative work, Harralson discovered that the video store was already in violation of local ordinances against the distribution of pornography. She pressured local officials to take action. At her prompting, town leaders contacted the Movie Gallery store and called attention to the law, but the store’s management was not initially deterred.

The persistent student then turned to the Commonwealth Attorney of Virginia, who agreed to prosecute if she could provide evidence of a complaint. So Harralson and her classmates conducted a grassroots campaign, provided proof, and got the complaint filed. The Commonwealth Attorney was willing to proceed against Movie Gallery, but the video store’s management chose to close the back room rather than face legal action.

The heart of a home-school grad
It was a long battle for Harralson, and a significant part of the challenge involved convincing the police, city officials, and state prosecutors to enforce the existing law. But ultimately she won out and credits her home-school upbringing – and, of course, prayer – for that triumph.

Harralson feels that, like the battle, the victory belongs to the Lord. “This was never something that I wanted to get involved in,” she says, “but it was kind of placed in my lap, I believe by Him, and I have to emphasize that this is underlying everything. It’s a spiritual battle, and it can only be won, ultimately, through prayer.”

According to the Home School Legal Defense Association (www.hslda.org), Harralson is proof that the vision of many home-school advocates – “to train those who will lead the nation and shape the culture” – is working.

The Movie Gallery video rental chain has been the subject of an ongoing AFA boycott because of its policy of renting and selling pornography. For more information about the boycott visit www.afa.net/moviegallery.