Banning Public Nudity in San Francisco…Sort of

San Francisco is preparing to pass a law that would prohibit nudity in most public places. According to the Associated Press, lawmaker Scott Wiener spearheaded the effort after

“constituents complained about the naked men who gather in a small Castro plaza most days and sometimes walk the streets au naturel. He persuaded his colleagues last year to pass a law requiring a cloth to be placed between public seating and bare rears, yet the complaints have continued.”

Wiener was concerned that the exhibitionists were more of a “caricature” of the gay population in San Francisco than a true representation of the community. So he has been working to pass this law in order to remove the mistaken impression that this community trades in lewd and lascivious conduct. Nevertheless, the AP also reports that the new law would not ban nudity outright.

“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.”

Yes, you read that right. They are going to allow exemptions for street fairs and parades. But apparently it’s lost on them that these exemptions reinforce the very caricature that lawmakers say they wish to avoid. Maybe public celebrations of sadomasochism and other “sexual subcultures” are normal in San Francisco, but nearly everywhere else they are considered deviant. It’s hard to believe that these lawmakers don’t see that.