The first has to do with a bunch of Christians who are "naturalists"... yeah they are nudists. They held one naked mass but because of the negative publicity they had to cancel their second. I don't really have much to say about this you can read it here.
The second actually takes place in my home city, Tucson, and apparently there's a religious massage parlor that offers happy endings. Whats so awesome about this, and why I want to start my own religion (not the prostitution part but the awesome part I'm about to describe), is that the owner of this business is claiming freedom of religion. I love stories like this because it just goes to show that the christian religion (and pretty much all others) is so inarticulate and vague about its "absolute rules" that it can be interpreted however one wants if you just look hard enough. If you have some time here is the article in its entirety (couldn't link to it cuz azstarnet.com kinda sucks):
Massage firm steps up faith- based defense
State calls 'laying on of hands' claim a cover for prostitution in Tucson case
By Enric Volante
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
State attorneys say John LaVoie should be forever barred from the massage business because he ran a house of prostitution camouflaged as a church. But in his latest court argument, the Tucson man says he hired women at Angel's Heaven Relaxation Spa — near University Medical Center — not to sell sex but to comfort the afflicted through the religious act of "laying on of hands." A jury found against LaVoie July 30 on all 22 counts he faced of racketeering, money-laundering and other offenses related to prostitution in a civil forfeiture — a proceeding that lets the government confiscate assets if it can show they were obtained through a criminal enterprise. No criminal charges have been filed. A proposed final court order drafted by the Arizona Attorney General's Office for a judge's signature would have LaVoie forfeit nearly $2 million worth of real estate and cash, and permanently bar him from engaging in any business involving massage "or other physical touching of male customers by female employees or
contractors."
To fight that, LaVoie is now citing constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion. "This offer of comfort by this means is based on several Biblical passages," wrote attorney Brad Roach, who is representing LaVoie while seeking election as Pima County attorney. LaVoie, who testified he is the pastor of the Church of Liberty, "has every right under the First Amendment
to freely exercise his religion, which religion includes offering comfort through the laying on of hands," Roach wrote in an objection to the proposed order of forfeiture. Alex Mahon, an arizona assistant attorney general, responded that LaVoie never argued at trial that laying
on of hands was part of church ceremonies. In fact, the evidence showed his "angels" were lay people committing acts of prostitution with the spa's male customers, Mahon wrote. "LaVoie continues to mock the state and the court by insisting that his flimsy claim of religious freedom entitles him to engage in criminal acts at will," Mahon told the court. Whatever they offered, LaVoie's "angels" operated out of an office building at 1740 E. Lester St., northwest
of Campbell and Speedway. The Angel's Heaven Web site displayed portraits of young women over trademarked names. "Oriental Angel" described as 5-foot-2 with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, invited visitors to discover "Far East delight." Brown-eyed "Passion Angel" peered out over this message: "Come to Angel's Heaven now and be touched by an angel willing to take you to heaven and back." In 2004 police raided Angel's Heaven but charged LaVoie only with running a massage business without a license. That charge was later dismissed. Prosecutors declined to file prostitution-related criminal charges against LaVoie after a Tucson police detective compromised the investigation. Detective Michael Moser told his sergeant in February 2004 that he had sex with one of LaVoie's angels after work, at her home and in his police car. Internal Affairs records show then-Chief Richard Miranda agreed to suspend him without pay for a week and demote him from detective to officer. Before police served the discipline, Moser retired in September 2004.
But the attorney general pressed the civil forfeiture case. While that case was pending, the Pima County Board of Supervisors met on Feb. 21, 2006. According to published minutes, "the invocation was delivered by Pastor John LaVoie of the Church of Liberty." County staff had selected him at random from the phone book and invited him to open the meeting. "We had no idea at that time" that police had raided LaVoie's spa and that the state had filed to confiscate the spa property, said Clerk of the Board Lori Godoshian. The case finally went to trial this summer in Maricopa County Superior Court. Lavoie testified that before opening Angel's Heaven, he was going through much illness and a painful period of estrangement from his parents. "And then I dated probably one of the top massage therapists in Tucson and started to realize — she would offer me massages — how incredibly beneficial it is for the body," he told jurors. He announced the spa first through the church, and it grew from there, offering comfort to the soul as well as the body, but never sexual gratification, he testified.
Diverse religious groups around the world have practiced laying on of hands for centuries. In Christian churches it may be used to transmit a sacred purpose, such as blessing or healing, or to convey a church office. Catholics use it in baptism and also to bring someone into the priesthood in a ceremony that may not even include physical touching. "The hands of the bishop would rest just slightly above the head of the person being ordained," said Fred Allison, a spokesman for the Diocese of Tucson.
As for the sacred laying on of hands in a massage spa accused of prostitution? "That's bizarre," Allison said. In the civil case, Judge Jeanne Garcia found LaVoie's property at 1740 and 1738 E. Lester Street subject to forfeiture, along with $81,966 in cash seized by investigators and $850,000 in racketeering proceeds. Roach, LaVoie's attorney, said Friday that after the verdict the spa closed and then reopened, but Roach didn't know whether it still operates. A woman who answered the Angel's Heaven line Friday said she didn't know either and that LaVoie was not available. In court papers Roach also argued that ordering LaVoie to stay out of the massage business permanently based on a verdict in civil court is fundamentally unfair in violation of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
"Not even a person convicted of a crime is subject to such harsh and permanent restrictions," Roach wrote. He also told the court that ordering LaVoie to pay the costs of the investigation is unreasonable because the probe was complicated and greatly prolonged due to the admitted sexual misconduct of Detective Moser. Moser's sworn statements about having sex were read to the jury because he could not be located to testify. The state responded that although the detective's actions were "immensely stupid," that shouldn't give LaVoie a free pass. A permanent order against being in the massage business is appropriate because the evidence showed LaVoie couldn't or wouldn't distinguish between lawful massage and prostitution, Assistant Attorney General Mahon argued. "It is clear that LaVoie has learned nothing from this ordeal, and is seeking, with the court's blessing, the ability to keep open/reopen his massage-related prostitution enterprise," Mahon wrote. Attorney General spokeswoman Anne Titus Hilby said, "We are hoping that the judge signs the order as soon as possible so that we can begin eviction proceedings." If LaVoie appeals the trial verdict, however, the four-year-old case could continue in litigation.
● Contact reporter Enric Volante at 573-4129 or evolante@azstarnet.com.
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Massage firm steps up faith- based defense | www.azstarnet.com ® http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/259732
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