San Francisco Eyes Nudity Ban

Lawmakers in San Francisco will vote tomorrow on a proposal to make life a lot more constricting for residents who like to let it all hang out. The ordinance proposed by Supervisor Scott Wiener would ban anyone over the age of 5 from exposing "his or her genitals, perineum, or anal region" in most public places, with exemptions made for events like the city's famous Folsom Street Fair, reports the AP. The first offense would carry a maximum penalty of $100, but a third offense could carry up to a year in jail.

Wiener—creator of last year's bill requiring nudists to put something between their bare butts and public seating—says he is responding to complaints from constituents in his Castro district about a large group of men who have started gathering naked in the area daily. "I don't think having some guys taking their clothes off and hanging out seven days a week at Castro and Market Street is really what San Francisco is about," he says. "I think it's a caricature of what San Francisco is about." The proposed ban has sparked a number of naked protests, though demonstrators who want to enter City Hall for tomorrow's vote will have to put some clothes on. (More San Francisco stories.)