ARTelevision

I'm in favor of people doing their "thing" in the privacy of their homes.
I'm not in favor of violating zoning laws.

Info-taining news and views!

I thought you'd get a thrill from the prurient descriptions, at least...

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Sex club is shut down

Restraining order targets 'private' fetish group in Lakewood

Denver Post

LAKEWOOD - Just feet from busy West Sixth Avenue, people would whip, shock, pierce, burn and tie each other up in a nondescript industrial building.

But Lakewood officials have shut down the sex club known as The Labyrinth, winning a temporary restraining order and halting a series of monthly gatherings billed as "The Seven Deadly Sins."

"Every member of (City) Council was shocked when they heard about it," Lakewood Mayor Steve Burkholder said Tuesday. "We plan to pursue this with a great deal of effort. It does not reflect the moral value of the city or its citizens."

Lakewood police received an anonymous tip in March from a resident who came across a flier for a rave party with live sex acts.

Fliers for the 5805 W. Sixth Ave. club advertised that for the $12 admission fee, anyone 19 or older could "be a part of the action. Indulge in your senses. Fetish on a new level."

Police sent undercover Detective Karla Sarnacki into the club twice, and a Jefferson County judge issued a restraining order last week. The judge found that The Labyrinth violated zoning codes and was operating as an unlicensed cabaret. Under city code, a cabaret is defined as an establishment that features live adult entertainment.

"We have strict zoning criteria for adult entertainment businesses," City Manager Mike Rock said. "We determined that this facility was not zoned for this use and was not in compliance with our regulations."

But Susan Wright, spokeswoman for the New York-based National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, contends The Labyrinth is a private club where people who practice alternative sex can socialize.

"This is not adult entertainment. It is not a strip club," Wright said. "It's very important that there are zoning categories that allow for a space like this where people can get the education they need to do SM (sadomasochism) and fetish safely. They need to get lessons."

In an affidavit, Sarnacki detailed what she saw during her two visits to The Labyrinth and its 2,000-square-foot "dungeon" on March 29 and April 19. She said about 50 people attended the March event, which was the second in the "Seven Deadly Sins" series, and about 35 people were at the April gathering.

Nude or seminude participants were engaged in sexual activities, sometimes to the point where they were left semiconscious or convulsive, Sarnacki said.

On March 29, at the event billed as "Wrath," Sarnacki said she saw a naked woman restrained on a cross on a platform while a person stroked her buttocks with a bamboo stick.

Sarnacki said she saw an older man stroke another restrained woman with a paddle, whip and stick, and touch her genitals.

Sarnacki said a man "dressed as a Kabuki warrior lit a blowtorch and melted a puddle of wax" on a woman's back.

On April 19, Sarnacki said she returned for the event advertised as "Lust."

When she walked into the dungeon, a restrained person "dropped to his/her knees and went limp" after being flogged. The person lay on the floor semiconscious and appeared to convulse, Sarnacki said.

In an upstairs room, Sarnacki said she saw a man tie a rope around a nude woman's underarms. After stroking her with a whip, he lit a blowtorch and melted wax on her chest and then swung the blowtorch near her stomach and crotch. The woman went limp and was helped to a nearby couch.

Another man took 10 to 15 needles and pierced them through a woman's breasts, Sarnacki said. When he finished, he took a string and tied it around the needles and secured the string under her chin.

Trenton Gary, owner of Exotic Ventures, which operates The Labyrinth, could not be reached for comment.

In an undated letter to Lakewood officials, Gary said he wanted to get zoning approval to operate a small meeting and assembly hall at the Westwood Industrial Complex building.

Meetings, educational seminars, private parties and social gatherings would be held at the site from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., he wrote.

"We have constitutional rights to assemble and to privacy," said Wright, of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. "I hope this isn't an attempt to shut down a private membership club."

Established in 1997, the group "is committed to altering the U.S. political, legal and social environment to guarantee equal rights for consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression," its website says.

Among the 30 coalition members are the National Leather Association International, the Boston Dungeon Society, Bound by Desire, Lesbian Sex Mafia, and Masters and Slaves Together.

The city is asking for a May 28 court date.

"Indulgence," the next Labyrinth event, was scheduled for May 30.
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I'm for sexual freedom
I'm not for freedom from zoning laws.

"...is committed to altering the U.S. political, legal and social environment to guarantee equal rights for consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression..."

Their "defense" demonstrates that they are not practitioners of sexual freedom, they are political activists - do you see the difference?

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