[poll id=”3″]
17 December 2012
NUDITY: San Francisco bans public nudity.
By Emilie Bean
As the weather gets colder people bundle up in several more layers of clothing — at least that is what one would think. In San Francisco, clothes are being ripped off in protest. The stark-naked hecklers are directing a slur of insults at Scott Wiener, a city supervisor of the Castro district, who proposed a ban on public nudity. The ban was proposed because of an increasing number of complaints about a group of nudists seen almost daily in the city’s Castro District.
As long as it is not lewd or offensive, public nudity is legal under state law. But now, San Francisco is joining many other cities that prohibit it. Under the new law, one can be fined for public nudity. A first-time violation results in a fine of up to $100. A second citation in the same year costs up to $200, and a third results in either a fine of up to $500 or a misdemeanor and up to one year in jail. The law will not go into effect until after February 1, which will allow enough time for a federal judge to consider a lawsuit brought against the city by a group of nudists. The nudists claim that the ban violates their constitutional right to free speech. But is it really? Freedom of speech should only go so far.
It is normal to have genitals. It is okay to be proud of them. It is not okay to display them for everyone and their mother to see. It is especially frightening that a group known as “the naked guys” can be seen stalking around the Castro District almost daily. Young children have also been known to be seen in Castro District. It is not a good idea for innocent eyes to be exposed to naked adults running around. If movies are rated R for nudity then why should adults be allowed to run the streets nude?
Leslie Dearing, a concerned citizen said: “For more years than I care to remember, I have looked to San Francisco as a beacon of liberty in a land of enslavement. I look forward to a successful challenge to the enslavement by clothing being forced on us by shrill bigotry.” There are many nudist colonies people can go to in order to become “free” but it is not acceptable to go grocery shopping in your birthday suit. Clothes are not shackles and we are not enslaved.
The nudists are overreacting and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors does understand that the city prides itself on its variety on inhabitants. Public nudity will continue to be allowed at events permitted by the city, including the annual gay pride parade and the Folsom Street Fair. Anyone five years of age or younger can still run unclothed and women will still be allowed to remain topless.
Most of the San Francisco inhabitants just want their neighbors to put pants on when they walk down the street — at least for most of the year. It has nothing to do with discrimination or one’s freedom of speech; it is a matter of public decency.