Swinging and PayPal....against the law?

Something I read the other day in the news once again peaked my curiosity about all of this Swingers action. I can't really say why this form of entertainment peaks my interest, but it does. Not that I would EVER THINK of approving of this type of behavior, it just amazes me how society can condone something one day, and the next week...it's part of what society calls "normal". Ten years ago (maybe even sooner) I bet courts would have considered this a reason for divorce. However, these days...I guess it must be a whole lot more than random acts of infidelity that would be grounds for a divorce.

Anyway, I was looking at some random news articles, and ran across this posting on msnbc. It is a question/answer type column, and I found it to be rather interesting. See for yourself:

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Q: Just wondering if you’ve heard about this … It’s a swingers party with 5,000 couples and porn star Mary Carey as the hostess along with [attorney] Lawrence G. Walters talking about how to keep your swingers club from getting shut down. It’s coming to Florida in July 2008, and I’m wondering, if we go, is this legal?

A: I have sometimes wondered this myself when reporting on the nation’s expanding sexual menu. I’d see something, stand there with my jaw dropped to my chest, and think “Is this even legal?”

I have occasionally had my doubts, but according to the man himself, Lawrence G. Walters, one of the nation’s leading defenders of porn producers, swing clubs, and adult Internet sites, the swing party you refer to is perfectly legal.

“There is nothing illegal about participating in, or attending events focusing on the swinger lifestyle,” he tells me. “It is not illegal to have more than one sexual partner in the United States of America. It’s a free country. The government is not in the bedroom to that extent and if the government did try to pass a law, it would be invalid under the right to privacy.”

Some legal theorists, like Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, say there is no such thing as a “right to privacy” because there is no mention of it in the Constitution. So while Walters is correct for now, he may not always be so correct depending upon the makeup of the Court.

Walters warns that swingers can face legal consequences if, say, they hold events in a private home for a fee, or post public notices of swinger parties to be held at residences, and do not have locally required permits. They could also wind up in violation of nuisance ordinances. But host hotels usually make special arrangements, often by booking the entire hotel for only that event so junior’s memory of his big Disney vacation isn’t blotted out by the sight of a platoon of nipple-pierced 60-year-olds in red Lycra thongs.

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ME: OK...you probably already know my response, but seriously...reserving an ENTIRE hotel for this type of behavior? What has the world come to, honestly? No legal consequences for these people? What happened to fidelity and to the holy bonds of matrimony? No wonder people don't take marriage seriously anyway...if this is what society thinks is normal, then why spend so much time finding Mr. Right?

I am glad that I don't participate in such chaos and nonsense. I am completely and 100% devoted to ONE man and will not participate in such parties, no matter how appealing they may sound. I choose to be different, and I am proud of it.

Article #2:

On the same question & answer column, this one also fascinated me:

Q: I am a very high profile public figure. If [the truth] were known about my sex life I might be asked to step aside from my job. While I am of the Woodstock generation, [my wife] is younger and she is the one pushing the envelope. We go to [swingers] parties in Orlando. She has profiles on several of the sex sites. She gets guys to pay a lot for sex with her. There is no Mafia involved and no organized crime. Guys deposit funds into her PayPal account and meet her for sex. This used to bother me in the past, but not at all now.

A: If you think you’re running a risk by leading a kinky sex life, you haven’t grasped the half of it. You are married to a prostitute.

You might not think of her that way, but legally speaking, Walters explains, she is, and unless she’s meeting the sugar daddies in select locales in Nevada, she’s breaking the law.

“The Internet has changed the way lots of people perceive prostitution,” Walters explains. “You have all these escort sites, [hooker] review boards talking openly about ‘the hobby’ as it is called, and people sometimes forget this is very illegal, can be prosecuted, and regularly is prosecuted.”

It doesn’t matter if the payment runs through PayPal, or even if it’s comprised of something other than cash, like jewelry, airline tickets to attend a swinger’s convention, or third-base seats to the World Series. A promise of sex for a payment is prostitution. If some vice-squad detective wanted to get prickly about it, Walters says, something as simple as dinner could be considered pay, which could place a date’s request for the Beluga caviar and the Château Pétrus in a whole new light.

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ME: Can you believe it? Some big shot thought that because payment came through PayPal, it must be OK, and is really that clueless that he thinks he is OK, and that there is nothing wrong with his marriage?

Ya right. You're married to a prostitute...that's completely normal!