By Gudrun Schultz

TORONTO, Ontario, May 16, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – More people are trying out group sex and partner swapping, said a report by the Canadian Press on Sunday, after last year’s Supreme Court decision to legalize swingers clubs in Canada.

Operators of private clubs offering group sexual activity said they have seen a significant increase in participation over the five months since the Supreme Court said such activity was not indecent and did not constitute public harm.

Aurora Ben Zion, who runs Toronto’s largest swingers club, claiming 13,000 members, told the CP the ruling made people more comfortable about experimenting with group sex.

“They think, ‘I’m not a freak, it’s okay to do this, and I’m going to try it out.’ It not only legalized it, I think it legitimized it in the eyes of public opinion.”

“The increase in activity does not come as a surprise to those who oppose the ruling”, said Mary Ellen Douglas, the national organizer of Campaign Life Coalition. She sees the legalization of swingers clubs as a symptom of increasing moral decay in the country.

“It shows we are becoming more and more degenerate as a nation. Sex clubs themselves are not new, they’ve been around since Adam and Eve. But [the increase] shows the downward spiral of our country.”

At the time of the Supreme Court decision, Gwen Landolt, vice president of Real Women of Canada, made a similar statement to LifeSiteNews, saying, “The courts are gradually reducing public concern about morality and behaviour that is offensive.”

“There is a real trend to break down moral principles in Canadian society. Those principles have been built based on human experience about what is in the best interest of society.”

Janet Epp Buckingham, director of law and public policy for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, told CP the issue is important because Canadians are concerned about swingers clubs

“They’re concerned about the fidelity of relationships, but they’re also concerned about the spread of disease.”

Under the Supreme Court ruling, adult group sexual activity is legal so long as it takes place in a (somewhat) private setting, all participants give consent and money is not directly exchanged for sex.

See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

Canadian Supreme Court’s “Swingers” Ruling Sets Dangerous Precedent, Says Organization
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/may/06050307.html

Canada Legalizes “Sex Clubs” – “14-year-olds will be exploited”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/dec/05122104.html