320
Stevens, J., dissenting
posed by the ordinance. Id., at 54, 71, and n. 34 (plurality opinion). Essential to our holding, however, was the fact that the ordinance was "nothing more than a limitation on the place where adult films may be exhibited" and did not limit the size of the market in such speech. Id., at 71; see also id., at 61, 63, n. 18, 70, 71, n. 35. As Justice Powell emphasized in his concurrence:
"At most the impact of the ordinance on [the First Amendment] interests is incidental and minimal. Detroit has silenced no message, has invoked no censorship, and has imposed no limitation upon those who wish to view them. The ordinance is addressed only to the places at which this type of expression may be presented, a restriction that does not interfere with content. Nor is there any significant overall curtailment of adult movie presentations, or the opportunity for a message to reach an audience." Id., at 78-79.
See also id., at 81, n. 4 ("[A] zoning ordinance that merely specifies where a theater may locate, and that does not reduce significantly the number or accessibility of theaters presenting particular films, stifles no expression").
In Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc., 475 U. S. 41 (1986), we upheld a similar ordinance, again finding that the "secondary effects of such theaters on the surrounding community" justified a restrictive zoning law. Id., at 47 (emphasis deleted). We noted, however, that "[t]he Renton ordinance, like the one in American Mini Theatres, does not ban adult theaters altogether," but merely "circumscribe[s] their choice as to location." Id., at 46, 48; see also id., at 54 ("In our view, the First Amendment requires . . . that Renton refrain from effectively denying respondents a reasonable opportunity to open and operate an adult theater within the city . . ."). Indeed, in both Renton and American Mini Theatres, the zoning ordinances were analyzed as mere "time,
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