Swinging is Protected
Clubs that allow group sex and partner swapping do not harm Canadian society and should not be considered criminal, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Wednesday.
The high court, which was ruling on two Quebec cases, said Canadian standards can tolerate the activities, even when they are done amid spectators.
The judges, in a 7-2 ruling, said the test for indecency is the harm it causes, and not simply community standards.
This jurisprudence is similar to the United States'. Here's the problem with it: it's reactive instead of proactive. We must demonstrate harm before we stop outrageous conduct? Problem is, it's nearly impossible to demonstrate harm. The harm is gradual and, at the beginning, spiritual and then mental, which defies measurement. It isn't until the degradation reaches great heights that we begin to see the harm in society itself.
Think I'm just making this up? Consider something very close to that swingers case: the divorce culture. No one thought it would be a big deal. We didn't feel comfortable condemning it on moral grounds anymore, since there was no demonstrable harm. Now, thirty years later, we know there's demonstrable harm, but we're not sure what to do about it. It's become so embedded in our culture, politicians aren't sure they want to restrict it.
Western jurisprudence is in a great mess, and it's largely because it has abandoned any notion of a natural law. But that analysis will have to wait another day.
