Do We Have A Legal Right To A Swing Party?
The municipality of Duncanville, Tx that is neighborhood of Dallas has been involved in its own small Jerry Falwell manner bible belt fight with the owners of a privileged ”adult party club” called “The Cherry Pit“. The Cherry Pit is a private residence tucked in away in an upscale Duncanville housing area. The Cherry Pit announces on the web and according to advertised reports draws as many as 150 members to a weekend social gathering.
The Cherry Pit has been throwing swingers orgy parties where visitors pay a charge for entry and are able get involved in mosly any kind of sex actions they want on the location. It is the position of the hosts that this does not constitute a “business” as the entry charge is to cover the price of foodstuff, drinks etc and not a charge for the privilege of engaging in sex from the tame to the “Pulp Fiction” apple in the mouth brand of entertainment…. It is rumored for an extra service fee they will even “bring out the gimp“….(just joking)
The whole deal started backin October of 2007 when after several years of Cherry Pitt neighbors complaining about the crime, traffic and “unsavory element” “the pit” was bringing to the community, the City of Duncanville passed the next order:
“the function and maintenance of a sex to be unlawful and a public annoyance. Violation of the new order can result in a fine of up to $2,500.”
The city of Duncanville after that decided that the gatherings at the Cherry Pit were more than just a party of “friends and family” looking for some excitement and determined that it was actually a sexually oriented business and subject to the ordinance. The respond of Julie Norris, one of the founders of “The Pit” was the following:
“I don’t know what their meaning of a industry is, but to my understanding a business is public – anyone can simply walk into it and you have to pay to get in and we are none of that,” Norris said. “I accept donations. Have you ever had your friends over for a grill and asked everyone to pitch in $10 or bring a plate? That is precisely what we do. The only requirement to get into my home is that anyone call and let me know that you are coming and you are on my reservation list.”
Ms Norris continued to state that she understood that the order is a excuse to harass their way of life and values and that the regulation regulating the club violated their First Amendment Rights to Privacy.
“It boils down to people want to put their ethics into my personal home and I will stand against that,” Norris said. “That is not what the Constitution allows.”
The owners of the Cherry Pit then counter sued the city claiming the ordinance banning swingers clubs violates their seclusion and due process rights. They are mostly using the same argument under which a right to privacy was found under Roe v. Wade. They have to use this manner in making the right to privacy argument because there is basically no right to personal privacy spelled out in the Constitution.
The Cherry Pit’s legal representative, Edward Klain, said the city is trying to regulate private acts in a private house using the public irritation law as a “pretext” to do so….
The Cherry Pitt has stayed open while all the official squabbling has taken place… Just today the City of Duncanville broadened the rule designed to lock the club down by making the explanation of a sex club more universal and add a local appeal process for couples clubs that the town orders to close.
***October 29, 2008 A jury found the organizers of the Cherry Pit responsible of illegally operating a sexually oriented business.
So what do you think? Should private citizens be permitted to “swap pits” at the Pitt without the authorities getting its’ rocks off?
You obviously can’t do cocaine in the confidentiality of your house. These things are illegal regardless of where they are engaged in.
Let us as well keep this in mind. Duncanville is NOT trying to control the swinger adult dating showing up at the venue. They are trying to regulate the founders of the home in encouraging the “Piters” to engage in sex for a fee at their home…. The state is NOT regulating where and with whom you can have sex with. They are telling the owners of the Pit that if they are charging you to do it, they are subject to state regulation. There is a vast dissimilarity…
Nobody is going to tell you that you should not go down to your neighborhood red light district and get a blowjob from Mollie the local crack addict or Larry the cross dressing pimp or even take any of parejas buscando hombre to the Cherry Pit for some entertainment. We of course are aware of nonetheless that the act of handing over a dollar in exchange for the BJ makes the otherwise agreeable step illegal prostitution on one end and the illegal action of soliciting a prostitute on the other end no matter where it occurs (in addition to whatsoever other wicked stuff goes with “the other end”). The state has decided that there is a forceful state interest to adjust and/or criminalize such acts…
***October 29, 2008 A jury found the owner of the Cherry Pit guilty on 10 counts of running a sexually oriented commerce. The Cherry Pit has since been locked. While advice for the owners declared that the verdict would be appealed and the statute challenged, it is vague if either of those was ever pursued.
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