E. Allyn (aka Norton II, Emperor of the United States): I can't swear to it, but FWIW I'm pretty sure your memory is correct about the BRC. (I wasn't part of that decision, but I was around.)

Today, July 8th, is the 24th anniversary of the infamous "Paddleboro" raid, in which Attleboro, Mass. police broke up a BDSM play party of consenting adults, and charged one attendee with "assault with a dangerous weapon" for paddling the other with a wooden spoon.

To this day if you Google "Paddleboro" you'll find links to news stories about it, like this one from the Attleboro Sun-Chronicle which details rather drily some of what went on, but (of course) doesn't tell the whole story. www.thesunchronicle....

Paddleboro: 1 year later | | thesunchronicle.comwww.thesunchronicle.com ATTLEBORO — A group of S&M enthusiasts who partied on the fourth floor of the Foster building now no longer rent the space in the old factory.

They don't talk about the Paddleboro Defense League, formed by members of the local BDSM community with a few DC-based advocates from the NCSF (National Coalition for Sexual Freedom). The PDL coordinated both the PR campaign and local fundraising efforts to cover legal expenses.

The PDL had people writing letters to the Attleboro police, and the assistant district attorney who was prosecuting the case, and mailing them their wooden spoons stating they were surrendering their dangerous weapons. Letters to the editor of MA newspapers. Etc.

The Attleboro police were made into laughingstocks all throughout New England for their overreach. "What, you found a bunch of middle-aged suburban couples spanking each other? You don't have something better to do?" Technically spanking IS assault, but... really??

So the cops lost in the court of public opinion: from the op eds ridiculing them to the radio talk show hosts roasting them. I myself was a guest on the WEEI morning drive show, where they usually talk about sports but they had a field day talking about consensual kink!

And of course they tried to charge the host of the party with prostitution. But no one was paying for sex. (In fact there was never any evidence that sex took place on the premises, just the aforementioned paddling, which is technically not sex in the eyes of the law.)

Where the cops really lost in the courtroom, though, was that in the end none of their "evidence" was admissible. They had treated it like raiding a gay bar in the 1950s. They took everyone's drivers licenses so no one could leave. Then they separated and interviewed each person.

They didn't obtain a search warrant until AFTER they had busted in. They were so dang certain that crimes were being committed and that the ends would justify the means! Local gov't was feeling the heat, though. The mayor, the ADA, they were hearing it LOUD from the community.

The ADA began to stall, to ask for more time. Each time the court was convened, he begged off and said they needed more time to prepare their case. The judge kept giving them extensions. Each time we had to raise more funds for lawyers. But the judge finally got fed up.

The Fetish Fair Fleamarket that was due to happen about a month after the raid was very affected by it. First, our venue tried to cancel the event, and called up a NELA board member to accuse, "We know you're part of that prostitution ring in Attleboro!"

Put plainly, they tried to break our contract and kick us out because we were "perverts." As it happens, Massachusetts has strong laws that protect "expressions of sexuality" including LGBTQ, but--according to our lawyers--also kink, leather, and BDSM! We said we'd sue.

The venue (the Bayside Expo Center) backed down and said we could have our event after all, but they did everything possible to sabotage the event, including fail to turn on the AC in the exhibit hall (or maybe it was just broken and the place was that much of a shambles...).

(Bayside Expo closed down less than 10 yrs later, btw.) Bayside's manager also had a big freakout on the day because a film crew from Fox News had showed up and he demanded NELA do something about it. We pointed out it's HIS venue and as private property they can block TV crews.

The TV crews filmed the massive line outside. All the PDL and Paddleboro publicity (I'd not only gone on WEEI but also the Fox TV morning show that week, appearing in a "what to do in Boston this weekend!" segment alongside Ms. Puerto Rico Boston) resulted in over 4000 shoppers.

The Fetish Fleamarket was also when many groups contributing to the Paddleboro Defense League legal defense coffers started their fundraisers. Groups like Boston Dungeon Society (BDS), The Society CT, MOB: New England, Bound For Pleasure (BFP) all contributed in some way.

These groups ran the spectrum from gay or lesbian specific groups to others that were mostly het couples from the suburbs, and there was at least one group from every New England State except Vermont involved in the effort. It was grassroots to the core.

When it was all over, the Sun-Chronicle did finally publish an article talking about the work the PDL had done and talked specifically about the amount of money raised. From Dec. 2001: www.thesunchronicle....

2001 IN REVIEW: `Paddleboro' charges fizzlewww.thesunchronicle.com ATTLEBORO — In what might have become a high-profile trial, two defendants arrested by police at a sadomasochistic party ended this year when a judge threw out most of the

"When wooden spoons are outlawed, only outlaws will have wooden spoons" was one of the bumper stickers the PDL sold. It gets a mention in this Hartford Courant op. ed. from March 9, 2001 decrying the police attitude and giving the stats on BDSM: www.courant.com/2001...

KINKY FIND A CAUSE IN `PADDLEBORO’www.courant.com “If Wooden Spoons Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Wooden Spoons.” –Bumper sticker sold by the Paddleboro Defense Fund. Imagine you’re at a kinky private party, friends …

I used to have more links to articles, but the websites have changed... One by Dave Wedge at the Boston Herald trumpeted "Fetishists Defend the Pursuit of Pain." Columnist Margery Eagen, also in the Herald, was particularly scathing. (Can't seem to find any archive of it!)

Oh wow, I forgot one charge against the party host was "possession of instruments of masturbatory use." (Just saw a reminder in one of the articles!) Technically it's illegal to own sex toys at all in Massachusetts? (yet it's easier to buy a dildo here than liquor, seriously.)

Anyway, this thread is long, and I'm sure many many people and groups need to be credited with how they contributed to the cause. (The Bisexual Resource Center let the PDL use their bank account to collect the funds, IIRC. Solidarity!)

I can't swear to it, but FWIW I'm pretty sure your memory is correct about the BRC. (I wasn't part of that decision, but I was around.)

Yep. Partly because a member of the BRC board had been present at the play party that was raided and funneled outrage into action. Since the Paddleboro Defense League was intended to be a temporary coalition, it was better to use a pre-existing account rather than set one up.

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