What do Barack Obama, historic preservation and God have to do with a new adult toy store in New Haven?

Give me a moment and I'll explain - even if the owner of “Cupid's Castle” would argue that the issues surrounding his business are less complicated than all that.

“This has been totally misunderstood. It's just a business for adventurous couples, like Cirillas (an adult book and novelty store wth two locations in Fort Wayne). There won't be any modeling, nothing illegal, and we'll have 16 security cameras. It will be good for marriages, nice for the community and you'll have to be 18 to enter,” Troy Fritz said of the business he hopes to open by June 1 at 6623 Indiana 930 E.

But to Terry McDonald, who is both a Methodist pastor and New Haven's mayor, there's nothing simple about this case.

“People who think I'm for this just don't understand how government works,” he said. “You can't take the morality out of it, and I'm opposed to the business. This isn't the kind of growth New Haven wants. It's not good for the neighborhood and could attract crime. But we can't enforce the law selectively.”

Seven years ago, McDonald proposed a law that would have addressed this very issue. He wanted New Haven's City Council to establish a special zoning category that would have limited adult-oriented businesses to certain areas, such as industrial parks. But council voted the proposal down, meaning city planners have no choice but to allow Cupid's Castle to operate despite its proximity to homes, shops, a proposed Wal-Mart and the new $55 million Maplecrest Crest Road extension - which helped attract Fritz to the site in the first place.

Now contrast McDonald's commitment to enforce the law despite deep civic and moral concerns with President Obama's recent promise to nominate as a successor to retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter someone with empathy for common people; someone who understands how “our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives.”

Carrying Obama's promise to its logical conclusion, it is interesting to speculate how an Obama-approved judge would handle this case. Sure, the law is on Cupid's Castle's side. But what about all the opponents living and working nearby. Don't their feelings and fears count?

The proper answer, of course, is: No. Not where enforcement of the law is concerned. McDonald, a former New Haven cop, understands what the president apparently refuses to grasp: that legal decisions based on emotion instead of fact represent not justice, but the most arbitrary form of tyranny.

Does McDonald empathize with home owners who would rather not have an adult-oriented business in their neighborhood? Absolutely. That's why he intends to resubmit his adult-business ordinance within the next month or so, which would give New Haven officials a tool similar to one already in force in Fort Wayne. But even if council passes it this time, McDonald will be powerless to use it retroactively against Cupid's Castle. That's how the law works, or is supposed to.

The arrival of Cupid's Castle is good news of sorts for local historic preservationists, who have long been concerned about the future of the building, erected in 1915 as the home of a chicken farmer named Holterman - hence the “Holter's Roost” posted above the door in stone letters.

Mike Galbraith, preservation specialist for ARCH, said the building, located on the original 1915 route of the Lincoln Highway, is an “outstanding” example of historic architecture and is eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.

Angie Quinn, ARCH's executive director, expressed surprise when told of the stone castle-like structure's new tenant. But Quinn said she will not oppose the business because her job is to preserve historic buildings, not pass judgment on their use.

In baseball, any umpire who allowed “empathy” for the underdog to influence his decisions would be ridiculed and fired - and properly so. A game is supposed to be played under certain rules, and decided by performance. Surely the law deserves to be treated with at least as much integrity as a baseball game - or even an adult bookstore.