Do You Have A Legal Right To A Orgy?
The municipality of Duncanville, Texas that is neighborhood of Dallas has been involved in its own little Jerry Falwell manner bible belt conflict with the founders of a private “swingers club” named “The Cherry Pit“. The Cherry Pit is a private residence tucked in away in an expensive Duncanville residential community. The Cherry Pit posts on the internet and according to announced information draws as many as 140 swingers to a weekly social gathering.
The Cherry Pit has been throwing private adult parties where guests pay a fee for entry and could engage in mosly any kind of sex deeds they want on the site. It is the position of the hosts that this does not constitute a “business” as the entrance fee is to cover the price of food, drinks etc and not a charge for the opportunity of engaging in sex from the tame to the “Pulp Fiction” apple in the mouth brand of entertainment…. It is rumored for an additional service charge they will even “bring out the gimp“….(just kidding)
The entire deal happened latein November of 2007 when past some years of Cherry Pitt neighbors complaining about the offence, traffic and “unsavory element” “the pit” was bringing to the district, the City of Duncanville passed the following ordinance:
“the function and maintenance of a club to be unlawful and a public irritation. Violation of the new order will result in a fine of up to $2,000.”
The city of Duncanville then decided that the events at the Cherry Pit were more than just a meeting of “friends and family” looking for some excitement and determined that it was in fact a sexually oriented industry and subject to the ordinance. The answer of Julie Norris, one of the founders of “The Pit” was the following:
“I do not comprehend what their meaning of a business is, but to my understanding a business is public – anyone can just walk into it and you should pay to get in and we are none of that,” Norris said. “I allow donations. Have you ever had your buddies over for a booze and asked everyone to pitch in $5 or bring a bowl? That is precisely what we do. The only condition to get into my residence is that you 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 ordinance is a guise to assault their lifestyles 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 morality into my own dwelling and I will stand against that,” Norris said. “That is not what the Constitution allows.”
The owners of the Cherry Pit subsequently counter sued the city claiming the order banning adult 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 technique 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 attorney, Ed Klein, said the city tries to regulate private acts in a private home using the public nuisance law as a “pretext” to do so….
The Cherry Pitt has remained open while all the official backbiting has taken place… Only today the City of Duncanville broadened the regulation designed to close the club down by making the classification of a adult club more general and add a local appeal procedure for sex clubs that the town orders to shut down.
***October 29, 2008 A jury proclaimed the organizers of the Cherry Pit accountable of illegally operating a sexually oriented industry.
So what you do think? Should private citizens be permitted to “swap pits” at the Pitt without the authorities getting its’ rocks off?
You evidently can’t do heroin in the confidentiality of your house. These things are illegal regardless of where they are engaged in.
Let us also keep this in mind. Duncanville is NOT attempting to order the mature older swingers showing up at the club. They are trying to control the owners of the club 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 state punishment. There is a colossal difference…
No one is going to advice you that you can not go down to your local red light area and get a blowjob from Sallie the local crack addict or Eddie the cross dressing pimp or even take any of busco pareja swinger to the Cherry Pit for some entertainment. We surely are aware of however that the act of handing over a dollar in trade for the blowjob makes the otherwise consenting action 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 whatever other wicked stuff goes with “the other end”). The state has decided that there is a compelling state awareness 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 company. The Cherry Pit has since been shut down. While advice for the owners stated that the conclusion would be appealed and the statute challenged, it is unclear if either of those was ever pursued.