| August 24, 2009 | Volume 84, Number 22 | |
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‘Fetish shop’ closed downWhile it seems like almost anything goes today and many cry foul when there is any denial of civil liberties, government officials of Montclair, NJ, were correct in shutting down what they called a “fetish shop” whose specialty was letting patrons experience different forms of bondage. The shop, which had been operated by Ed and Karen Dougherty, had a fetish “dungeon” complete with a “spanking bench” and interrogation cell. Mrs. Dougherty, known as “Slave Duchess,” naturally objected to the town’s action of shutting down her shop known as Dressing for Pleasure. The name sounds all right, but items it sold included fetish clothing and tools used in bondage such as flogs, paddles, handcuffs and spiked collars. Mrs. Dougherty says she considered the shop a safe place where people could act out their fantasies. “Because people don’t have dungeon facilities in their house, they would use our facility to tie each other up,” she said. “What we have is completely hidden underground. Nobody ever sees it.” Her defense would be laughable if it were not so dangerous because of what it might promote among people who find pleasure in acts of torture. The Doughertys readily admitted that the basement dungeon was used for private “play parties” where couples acted out their master-slave fantasies on the rack, bondage horse and the St. Andrew’s Cross.” Montclair code officials shut down the 2,000-square-foot space after an anonymous complaint. The Doughertys sought new permits to reopen the basement for “amateur theatrical and historic reenactment.” But the business now is closed and the couple have been denied permits to hold their “play parties” under Montclair’s belief they were commercial sex parties. So what’s next? The Doughertys and their fans staged a protest rally in the parking lot of Montclair municipal building during a Planning Board meeting. Mrs. Dougherty remains adamant that it is better for couples who practice alternative lifestyles to have a place to gather and be accepted for who they are because she and her husband teach them how to be safe. We learned earlier this summer that actor David Carradine died in Bangkok from what was believed to be auto-erotic asphyxiation. The Doughertys used him as an example of what can happen when one does not practice proper safety. An old adage comes to mind. If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned. Town officials of Montclair did the right thing in shutting down the fetish shop.
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