2012年11月20日 星期二

ABC News: U.S.: San Francisco Lawmakers Set to Vote on Nudity Ban

ABC News: U.S.
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San Francisco Lawmakers Set to Vote on Nudity Ban
Nov 20th 2012, 07:47

San Francisco lawmakers are getting ready to bare their decision on a proposed ban on public nakedness that has sparked indignation in a city known for flouting convention and flaunting its counter-culture image.

The 11-member Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the ordinance, which would prohibit exposed genitals in most public places, including streets, sidewalks and public transit.

Scott Wiener, the supervisor who represents San Francisco's predominantly gay Castro District, introduced the measure in response to escalating complaints about a group of men whose dishabille is an almost daily occurrence.

"Some people have tried to paint this issue as some sort of a gay rights issue, and it really isn't," Wiener, who is gay, said. "It has nothing to do with gay rights. This is about behavior in our neighborhoods and trying to be respectful of one another."

Nudity Ban.JPEG

AP

Demonstrators gather outside of City Hall in... View Full Caption
Demonstrators gather outside of City Hall in San Francisco for a protest against a proposed city-wide nudity ban, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. San Francisco appears poised to shed part of its image as a city where anything goes, including clothing. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote next week on a law that would ban public nudity. The proposal comes in response to a devoted group of nudists who proudly strut their stuff through the city's Castro District. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Close

A federal lawsuit claiming the ban would violate the free speech rights of people who prefer to make a statement by going au naturel was filed last week in case the ordinance passes.

"Freedom is not something man gives anyone. It's something we all â€" men, women, children â€" are born with and then people come in and try to erase it from you and if you won't let that go they want to silence you, they want to banish you and they want to burn you at the stake," Ckiara Rose, one of two dozen activists who staged a nude protest in front of City Hall last week.

Because clothes are required to enter City Hall itself, demonstrators who try to disrobe at the Board of Supervisors meeting will be escorted out by sheriff's deputies.

Under Weiner's proposal, a first offense would carry a maximum penalty of a $100 fine, but prosecutors would have authority to charge a third violation as a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine and a year in jail. Exemptions would be made for participants at permitted street fairs and parades, such as the city's annual gay pride event and the Folsom Street Fair, which celebrates sadomasochism and other sexual subcultures.

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