ESPLERP Update for October 2017
Folsom Street Fair
Thank you to everybody who stepped up to volunteer on behalf of the Erotic Service Providers Legal Education and Research Project (ESPLERP) at Folsom Street Fair this last Sunday (September 24th).
It was a lovely warm day - but not too hot - which apparently meant that lots of people turned up and spent lots of money. And we had loads of fun - as can be seen by one of our sexy volunteers in the green.
Your efforts, and the efforts of everybody who volunteered for Up Your Alley in July, feed into the Folsom funding algorithm - which determines our eventual level of funding. So now we just to have wait until the “check party” (in December?) to find out how much we will get. Fingers crossed.
Exile 6 Fetish Ball in Denver
On September 16th, the ‘Exile 6 Fetish Ball’ annual fundraising event held in Denver Colorado, promoted by Lokusdor Productions, brought in a total of $14,000. ESPLERP was chosen as one of this year's beneficiaries.
The Colorado LGBTQ and BDSM communities participated with a variety of demos and performances including our own board member Domina Elle featured in the photo You can see more photos at xposermagazine.com/exile-6-fetish-ball-2/.
We are grateful and honored to be supported by the Exile family. Special thanks to Brent Hienze the President of the Board of Directors of Lokusdor Productions.
Domina Elle and crew had a blast during the event with a vac tower! We are grateful for their service.
Status of the court case
We are really excited to finally get our day in court! So many of us have worked long and hard to get here. Oral Arguments at the Ninth Circuit are Thursday October 19th, 2017, starting at 9 am! Our case is ESPLERP v Gascon, case #16-15927.
The panel of three jurists who will be hearing our case is only published a week beforehand - so at this stage we have no idea which judges we will get. But the Ninth Circuit has a reputation for being the most liberal appeals circuit in the US, so we are hopeful that our case will be received sympathetically.
The hearing is in the James R. Browning Courthouse, Courtroom 3, 3rd Floor, at 95 7th St, San Francisco, CA 94103, which is located on 7th at Mission. Parking is nearby on 5th at Mission. Security at federal buildings is strict in that they require government ID and walking through a screening device. The courtroom holds about 100 people, so there may be a line to get in. But we will be there…!
No recording devices are allowed. But the court does do its own audio / video recordings, which are published at ca9.uscourts.gov/media/ a week or so later (look for the case #16-15927). So if you can’t make it to the hearing, you can still check out our fabulous lawyers in action there.
Press conference following the hearing
There will be a press conference outside the courthouse immediately after the hearing. We are preparing press packets which will be posted on the website.
If you are there, please be aware of photographers and reporters who may try to engage you in conversation. Feel free to say “no comment”, or tell them you don’t want to be photographed - and then direct them to Maxine or one of our lawyers. If you do decide to speak out, please stick to the talking points in the press packets.
Celebrate over lunch
Following the press conference we are having a fundraiser/lunch at a local private dungeon space just a few blocks from the courthouse (at Mission and 6th) - starting at 12 noon. You can speak personally to our lawyers and get all your questions answered after the hearing. And I bet we will all be hungry after expending tons of energy on our historic hearing. Free food and drink awaits. Donations are $20 and up with no one turned away for lack of funds. Sign up at /oralarguments.brownpapertickets.com
Fundraising
Thanks to all the folks who remember us monthly in their giving, which helps keep our dream of sexual privacy alive. We couldn’t have gotten this far without so many generous contributions from all of you.
We made our latest goal of $12,220 which will cover some of the attorneys preparation costs.
But we are now moving into the next crucial phase of our fundraising - so we can meet the financial obligations associated with our Appeal - and we are started a new fundraiser at crowdrise.com/o/en/team/litigate-to-emancipate1/eroticserviceprovide aiming to raise $30,000. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps.
There is also a Facebook fundraiser, and so far, we’ve received $733 of the $2000 goal - see facebook.com/donate/130679564222656/1445991892104685/?fundraiser_source=feed.
● Contribute online at
● Hit the PayPal button at
http://esplerp.org ● Mail checks to ESPLERP, 2261 Market Street # 548, San Francisco, CA
See you in court (!),
