Do You Have A Legal Right To A Swing Party?
The town of Duncanville, Texas that is suburb of Dallas has been involved in its own petite Jerry Falwell manner holy scripture belt conflict with the founders of a secret “swingers club” called “The Cherry Pit“. The Cherry Pit is a private landed property tucked in away in an fashionable Duncanville suburban community. The Cherry Pit posts on the internet and according to published information draws as many as 120 visitors to a weekend party.
The Cherry Pit has been throwing sexy orgy parties where visitors pay a charge for entrance and are able get involved in pretty much any kind of sexualgroup sex deeds they want on the premises. It is the position of the hosts that this does not constitute a “business” as the entrance fee is to cover the expence of food, beverages etc and not a charge for the benefit of engaging in sex from the tame to the “Pulp Fiction” apple in the mouth brand of entertainment…. It is whispered for an additional service fee they could even “bring out the gimp“….(just a joke)
The whole thing started backin October of 2006 when past few years of Cherry Pitt neighbors complaining about the offence, traffic and “unsavory element” “the pit” was bringing to the area, the City of Duncanville passed the next regulation:
“the function and maintenance of a club to be unlawful and a public nuisance. Violation of the new ordinance will effect in a fine of up to $2,500.”
The city of Duncanville after that decided that the events at the Cherry Pit were more than simply a gathering of “friends and family” seeking some enjoyment and determined that it was basically a sexually oriented industry and subject to the decree. The respond of Julie Norris, one of the owners of “The Pit” was as follows:
“I do not know what their meaning of a commerce 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 allow contributions. Have you ever had your buddies over for a grill and asked everybody to pitch in $10 or bring a dish? That is just what we do. The only requirement to get into my home is that a person 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 regulation is a guise to assault their lifestyles and values and that the ordinance regulating the club violated their First Amendment Rights to Privacy.
“It boils down to people want to put their ethics into my own house and I am going to stand against that,” Norris said. “That is not what the Constitution allows.”
The founders of the Cherry Pit subsequently counter sued the city claiming the ordinance banning sex clubs violates their privacy 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 really no right to personal privacy spelled out in the Constitution.
The Cherry Pit’s legal representative, Ed Kline, said the city is trying to regulate private acts in a private home using the public nuisance law as a “pretext” to do so….
The Cherry Pitt has stayed open while all the legal backbiting has taken place… Only now the City of Duncanville broadened the rule meant to lock the club down by making the explanation of a swinger club more common and add a local plea procedure for couples clubs that the city orders to shut down.
***October 29, 2008 A jury found the founders of the Cherry Pit guilty of illegally operating a sexually oriented company.
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 not do heroin in the privacy of your apartment. 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 seeking an affair in Texas showing up at the club. They are trying to regulate the hosts 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 government administration. There is a big difference…
Nobody is going to tell you that you should not go down to your local red light block and get a blowjob from Mollie the local crack addict or Mikey the cross dressing pimp or even take any of busco compañero to the Cherry Pit for some fun. We of course are aware of however that the act of handing over a dollar in exchange for the quickie makes the otherwise consenting action illegal prostitution on one end and the illegal act of soliciting a prostitute on the other end no matter where it happens (in addition to whatever other disgusting doing goes with “the other end”). The state has decided that there is a undeniable state concern to normalize 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 business. The Cherry Pit has since been locked. While advice for the owners declared that the decree would be appealed and the statute challenged, it is vague if either of those was ever pursued.