City supervisors voted 6-5 in favour of banning anyone older than five from exposing ‘his or her genitals, perineum or anal region’ in most public locations.
District supervisor Scott Wiener -- a member of the Board of Supervisors, which passed the measure -- said: ‘Freedom, expression and acceptance does not mean anything goes under any circumstances.’
Federal suit
The BBC reports that a federal lawsuit has already been filed against the proposal – which will allow exceptions for certain street fairs and events –claiming freedom of speech rights will be infringed.
Another supervisor, John Avalos, said after the vote: ‘I'm concerned about civil liberties, about free speech, about changing San Francisco's style and how we are as a city.’
The need for a ban was discussed after a growing number of men began to gather in a public plaza in the city's Castro district, a hub for the gay community.
Mr Wiener said: ‘People have been taking their clothes off and hanging out seven days a week and it's gone too far.’
Piece of cloth
Previous local legislation had required a piece of cloth between a nudist and a public seating place. But after it was passed the number of nude men travelling to the plaza increased.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Mr Avalos said: ‘Sometimes there's a little weirdness about how we express ourselves, but that's a great thing about San Francisco.’
But Mr Weiner countered: ‘I don't agree that having yellow hair is the same as exposing your penis at a busy street corner for hours and hours.’
One nudist named Stardust told the paper that the legislation sent the wrong message. ‘It's telling people they should be ashamed to be naked, and that's totally wrong,’ he said.
While San Francisco has garnered the most publicity in relation to public nudity, it is by no means the only US city allowing its denizens to strip off. New York permits full nudity for artistic performances, while women have the same right to go topless as have men in any circumstances.
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