Swingers Club in West Virginia Under Fire

A swingers club in Mason County, West Virginia is coming under fire from local authorities who are questioning its right to operate without being licensed with the state. The Riverside Club, located in rural Gallipolis Ferry, advertises itself as a place to meet "open minded" people in a clean and "confidential" environment, who like to "flirt and play". While its website does not exactly say it is a 'swingers' club', the implication to county Commissioner Rick Handley is clear. Handley told Charleston, Virginia's Daily Mail newspaper, "We surely don't endorse a business like that coming into our rural community."

The problem that the county commissioners may have, however, is that there do not seem to be any specific laws being broken inside the club. Handley's position is that because the club accepts donations to attend its events, then they are operating as a business and should be licensed as such.

West Virginia is not a hotbed for swingers' clubs when compared to the lifestyle scene in places like New York City and swingers clubs in Miami, Florida. But the fact is, swingers live everywhere in the country, often times right next to people who have no idea that they participate in the lifestyle.

And while many may have a personal objection to the swinger lifestyle, the vast majority of swingers, just like the vast majority of non-swingers, are law abiding citizens who live otherwise 'normal' lives (if there is such a thing).

If Mason County's commissioners succeed in shutting down a swingers' club on a technicality, even while stating that their intent is to rid their rural community of a swingers club, it could set off a backlash. Even those people who do not participate in the swinging lifestyle may see this move as a slippery slope to further regulation in their private lives, even when they are not breaking any law.

While the political will probably would not exist in most large cities to shut down swingers clubs, by sheer numbers, most swingers probably do not live in major metropolitan areas. So swingers and would be swingers would be wise to watch the West Virginia case closely to see what political and social precedent may be set.

Source: Sarah Gavin, "Officials target 'swingers' nightclub", dailymail.com