Woodhull Speaks Out on BDSM Court Decision

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 8, 2016 — Washington, DC

The federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia recently ruled that American’s have no constitutional right to engage in consensual BDSM activity.  The decision in Doe v. George Mason University, et. al, should be a clarion call for advocates of sexual freedom and personal autonomy, to join together and insist on our human right to consensual sexual expression – of any kind!

“The danger in advocating only for a specific type of sexual expression is that other forms intimate sexual expression become neglected, resulting in decisions such as the recent ruling in Virginia,” said Ricci Levy, President & CEO of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation.  “This ruling appears to directly contradict the Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas which held that states could not criminalize consensual intimate activity between adults,” she added.

Since Lawrence v. Texas, the law has been clear that citizens have a right to engage in whatever sort of consensual sexual activity they choose within the privacy of their own homes as long as money is not involved.  The recent Virginia ruling, however, found that there is “no constitutionally protected and judicially enforceable fundamental liberty interest under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to engage in BDSM sexual activity.”  The states are thus free to regulate BDSM conduct, under this analysis.

“The minute we heard the court decision we began to bring together a team of attorneys to evaluate Woodhull’s response, and get the word out regarding the potential danger posed by this decision.  “We have been warning about the current hostile climate towards sexual expression, and the risks to fundamental human rights.  We have also been preparing.”

For further information, see the case itself:  http://ia801309.us.archive.org/2/items/gov.uscourts.vaed.314481/gov.uscourts.vaed.314481.92.0.pdf

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