Eastern District of Virginia Federal Court Rules Americans Have No Constitutional Right to Consensual BDSM Activity

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ALEXANDRIA, VA (March 9, 2016) – The Woodhull Freedom Foundation issues its statement regarding the recent ruling by the federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia. The court ruled (Doe v. George Mason University, et. al) that Americans have no constitutional right to engage in consensual BDSM activity.

 

“The danger in advocating only for a specific type of sexual expression is that other forms of intimate sexual expression become neglected, resulting in decisions such as the recent ruling in Virginia,” says Ricci Levy, President and 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.”

 

Woodhull’s position is that the ruling should be a clarion call for advocates of sexual freedom and personal autonomy, to join together and insist on the human right to consensual sexual expression – of any kind.

 

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 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.” 

 

Each state, under this analysis, will therefore be free to regulate BDSM conduct under this new ruling.

 

“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,” adds Levy. “We have been warning about, and preparing for, the current hostile climate towards sexual expression, and the risks to fundamental human rights.”

 

For further information on the case itself, visit http://ia801309.us.archive.org/2/items/gov.uscourts.vaed.314481/gov.uscourts.vaed.314481.92.0.pdf?mc_cid=39caad6979&mc_eid=09c04d1c78.

 

For more information on the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, visit http://woodhullfoundation.org, or follow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/WoodhullSFA and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WoodhullSFA.

 

 

About The Woodhull Freedom Foundation:

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation works to advance the recognition of sexual, gender, and family diversity. The Foundation works to improve the wellbeing, rights, and autonomy of every individual through advocacy, education, and action. Its mission is to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right, and it has been fighting for those rights by focusing on a wide range of human rights issues, including immigration equality, reproductive justice, prison reform, anti-discrimination legislation, comprehensive nonjudgmental sexuality education, and the right to define people’s own families. As the nation’s leading sexual freedom and human rights organization, honored by Proclamation in Washington, DC, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation is uniquely positioned to bring together allies and partners, thereby maximizing its effectiveness and theirs. For more information, visit http://www.woodhullfoundation.org.