Neighbors worry about nearby houses hosting frequent sex parties. But are they legal? (youtube.com)
At least twice a week. They mostly stay inside. It's like a club. They leave about 4am. They take up parking on the street. $5-20 (so a house could make over $100k a year), they advertise online. ‘For my 20-year career, this is the boldest I have seen it.’ What is a ‘house of ill fame or ill refute’ in 2025? Legally, they're acting as a social club, and the money they take in isn't to provide any services. Individuals who are likeminded share expenses for the social club.
Syhpillis has gone up 5X in recent 10 years in St. Louis.
Commonsense seems to demand that there not be sex parties in residential neighborhoods. So what is the specific remedy? Probably modify the ‘selling of services’ to ‘hosting an place where people pay to have sex’. Especially regarding zoning, so it isn't residential.
They reported that when KMOV put out ads about the thing, they received some messages of support for the houses, saying ‘these venues provide safe and consentual spaces for individuals to express themselves freely without fear of discrimination or harassment. It is incredibly harmful [sic] to report on this when homophobia, transphobia, and harmful conservative ideologies are rampant in Missouri.' Lots of DEA words there, ‘harm’ and ‘rampant’ and ‘phobic’.
This is the common thing, people who either can't or won't include neighbors in their calculations of what is convenient. Possibly the essential reason we have local government.