Dressed in their trademark-psychedelic drabs complimented by rainbow-colored heads the party platoon protested in unison with hundreds of their Raver counterparts in Washington, D.C., and New York, holding signs denouncing the piece of legislation as unconstitutional.

“We have to protect our right as people in the electronic music community,” said Susan Mainzer, spokesperson for the Electronic Music Defense and Education Fund. “We have to tell the government that you can’t legislate culture, and that electronic music is not about drugs, it’s about music.”

Hasty echoed that thought. “We were trying to let our voices be heard to say this is unconstitutional.”

Mainzer says ecstasy is being used as the Trojan-horse to sneak a broadly-worded bill under the radar to push the “electronic music culture” underground and use the culture as a political scapegoat “to garner votes during an election season.”

“The government thinks it’s about ecstasy. We think it’s primarily about freedom of expression,” said Mainzer referring to their right to dance, not their right to take drugs.

Pointing to the fact that Sen. Joe Biden, the driving force pushing the bill, is from Delaware, “where there aren’t many raves,” Mainzer said, “it’s a callow attempt to garner votes for the election season.”

Biden could not be reached for comment on the issue. However in a Washington Post article printed in July, Biden said “most raves are havens for illicit drugs.”

The R.A.V.E. Act was introduced on June 18 and has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. By extending the “crackhouse statute” the law puts in the same boat houses rented to manufacture and sell drugs and spaces temporarily rented out to “throw raves.” By doing so the law targets a variety of business owners even including homeowners, and could hold event organizers and promoters responsible.

Although 4000 people were treated in emergency rooms nationwide with ecstasy in their system, ecstasy-related fatalities are rare, said Mainzer, pointing out the exponentially higher alcohol-related mortality rates. “They’re barking up the wrong tree.”

Asked why Ravers as a community would be targeted, Mainzer said, “I think we’re considered a threat to the status quo. We dress funny. We’re really non-consumerist. We’re youth-driven, and that makes people nervous.”