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Court says swingers clubs with group sex, swapping are legal
John Ward, Canadian Press
Published: December 21, 2005
OTTAWA -- Swingers clubs which feature consenting adults cavorting in twosomes, threesomes and moresomes, are legal, the Supreme Court of Canada said Wednesday.
In a major decision, the court re-wrote the definition of indecency to use harm, rather than community standards, as the key yardstick.
The 7-2 majority ruling, written by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, said indecent acts must be shown to be harmful to the point where they ``interfere with the proper functioning of society.''
Public sex would meet the test of indecency, but orgies and partner swapping among like-minded adults in private don't, McLachlin wrote.
A sternly worded dissent from Justices Michel Bastarache and Louis LeBel said the majority decision goes too far.
"It constitutes an unwarranted break with the most important principles of our past decisions regarding indecency,'' the dissenters wrote.
The ruling dealt with two Montreal cases in which swingers club operators were charged with keeping a bawdy house. James Kouri and Jean-Paul Labaye were both convicted, but in separate Court of Appeal rulings, Labaye's conviction was sustained and Kouri's was overturned.
The high court threw out Labaye's conviction and affirmed the Kouri decision.
Writing on Labaye, McLachlin noted:
"Entry to the club and participation in the activities were voluntary. No one was forced to do anything or watch anything. No one was paid for sex.''
Sex, sex, sex
So who's coming to visit???
John Ward, Canadian Press
Published: December 21, 2005
OTTAWA -- Swingers clubs which feature consenting adults cavorting in twosomes, threesomes and moresomes, are legal, the Supreme Court of Canada said Wednesday.
In a major decision, the court re-wrote the definition of indecency to use harm, rather than community standards, as the key yardstick.
The 7-2 majority ruling, written by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, said indecent acts must be shown to be harmful to the point where they ``interfere with the proper functioning of society.''
Public sex would meet the test of indecency, but orgies and partner swapping among like-minded adults in private don't, McLachlin wrote.
A sternly worded dissent from Justices Michel Bastarache and Louis LeBel said the majority decision goes too far.
"It constitutes an unwarranted break with the most important principles of our past decisions regarding indecency,'' the dissenters wrote.
The ruling dealt with two Montreal cases in which swingers club operators were charged with keeping a bawdy house. James Kouri and Jean-Paul Labaye were both convicted, but in separate Court of Appeal rulings, Labaye's conviction was sustained and Kouri's was overturned.
The high court threw out Labaye's conviction and affirmed the Kouri decision.
Writing on Labaye, McLachlin noted:
"Entry to the club and participation in the activities were voluntary. No one was forced to do anything or watch anything. No one was paid for sex.''
Sex, sex, sex
So who's coming to visit???