Is There A Constitutional Right To A Swing Party?
The municipality of Duncanville, Texas which is outscirts of Dallas has been involved in its own petite Jerry Falwell style holy scripture belt fight with the founders of a secret “adult club” called “The Cherry Pit“. The Cherry Pit is a private dwelling tucked in away in an expensive Duncanville suburban region. The Cherry Pit posts on the internet and according to announced information invites as many as 160 swingers to a weekend gathering.
The Cherry Pit has been holding swinger gang bang party where guests pay a fee for entry and could get involved in mosly any type of sexualgroup sex deeds they want on the location. It is the position of the hosts that this does not constitute a “business” as the entry money is to cover the cost of snacks, soft drinks etc and not a price for the opportunity of engaging in sex from the tame to the “Pulp Fiction” apple in the mouth brand of entertainment…. It is whispered for an extra service fee they will even “bring out the gimp“….(just a joke)
This whole deal happened backin December of 2006 when past some years of Cherry Pitt neighbors complaining about the offence, noisy visitors and “unsavory element” “the pit” was bringing to the area, the City of Duncanville approved the following decree:
“the operation and maintenance of a adult to be against the law and a public irritation. Violation of the new regulation can outcome in a fine of up to $2,500.”
The city of Duncanville then decided that the parties at the Cherry Pit were more than simply a meeting of “friends and family” seeking some enjoyment and determined that it was actually a sexually oriented industry and subject to the decree. The answer of Julie Norris, one of the founders of “The Pit” was the following:
“I don’t recognize what their definition of a commerce is, but to my understanding a business is public – anybody can simply walk into it and you must pay to get in and we are none of that,” Norris said. “I accept gifts. Have you ever had your buddies over for a grill and asked everyone to pitch in $5 or bring a dish? That is just what we do. The only requirement to get into my residence 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 believed that the decree is a guise to harass their lifestyles and beliefs and that the ordinance regulating the club violated their First Amendment Rights to Privacy.
“It boils down to people want to put their morality into my personal house and I have to stand against that,” Norris said. “That is not what the Constitution allows.”
The founders of the Cherry Pit then counter sued the city claiming the regulation banning swingers clubs violates their privacy and due process rights. They are basically using the same argument under which a right to privacy was found under Roe v. Wade. They have to use this method 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 attorney, Edward Klain, said the city is trying to regulate private acts in a private dwelling using the public irritation law as a “pretext” to do so….
The Cherry Pitt has remained open while all the legal backbiting has taken place… Only today the City of Duncanville broadened the ordinance meant to lock the club down by making the classification of a swinger club more universal and add a local appeal procedure for swinger clubs that the city orders to shut down.
***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 allowed to “swap pits” at the Pitt without the authorities getting its’ rocks off?
You evidently can not do cocaine in the isolation of your home. 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 TX adult dating showing up at the place. They are trying to control the hosts of the place in cheering the “Piters” to engage in sex for a fee at their home…. The government 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 government regulation. There is a vast distinction…
No one is going to tell you that you can not go down to your local red light area and get a blowjob from Lily the local crack addict or Mikey the cross dressing pimp or even take any of casadas buscando to the Cherry Pit for some entertainment. We surely 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 operation of soliciting a prostitute on the other end no matter where it occurs (in addition to whatsoever other nasty doing goes with “the other end”). The jury has decided that there is a undeniable government awareness to regulate 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 company. The Cherry Pit has since been closed. While counsel for the owners stated that the conclusion would be appealed and the statute challenged, it is unclear if either of those was ever pursued.