Va youth camp being attacked

[NakedSteve]

damn it that sucks. They need to leave us the hell alone... Lower taxes or some damn thing,

[NakedSteve]

damn it that sucks. They need to leave us the hell alone... Lower taxes or some damn thing,

[NakedSteve]

Heres the story if you didnt see it.

RICHMOND — A summer camp for teens at a nudist park in southeastern Virginia last year won't be repeated if the General Assembly enacts a Republican-authored bill this winter

Del. John S. "Jack" Reid prefiled a bill Monday that would outlaw camps such as the one at White Tail Park, a nudist resort in Isle of Wight County, held last June.

"We're going to put an end to kids running around naked without their parents there," said Reid, R-Henrico.

White Tail held a weeklong summer camp for the 11-to-18 age group beginning June 21. It was the first in Virginia and only the third such au naturel camp for juveniles in the nation, according to the American Association of Nude Recreation.

Such gatherings are legal in Virginia, even for children, as long as lewd activity is not involved.

White Tail officials say strict bans on sexual or lascivious conduct at the camp are enforced by peer pressure from other campers and by a ratio of 1? counselors for every child.

Reid's bill would forbid the state from licensing "any hotel, summer camp or campground ... that maintains, or conducts as any part of its activities, a nudist camp for juveniles."

The bill defines the camps as those attended by "openly nude juveniles" not accompanied by parents or legal guardians.

[Dawg]

The legal issues forum has this same toipic going... as I said there, anyone that knows how to help keep the rest of us informed. If this gets defeated it will be great for nudism.

[NakedSteve]

i'll try to, in the meantime read my post over in the other fourm.

[MikeJB]

Why should a parent have to be there? The kid has the parents consent to be there dont they? Theyre watched by counselors, so there is a mature responsible trained adult there that has gone through background checks and such and im sure the parents sign countless forms to give their permission for such things, so how could the republican say that the parent has to be there or that the kid doesnt have the parent's consent to be there? Besides if its 12-18, if the kid turns 18 then doesnt that mean that they dont need a parent or even their consent to go there? This all seems perfectly legal and within the boundaries of the system.

Someone said--if I understood corrctly--that the children and teens are at the camp WITHOUT adult supervision. Their parents might not be there, but as far as I know there are adults there running the camp and supervising them. The kids aren't left on their own to do as they please. That much temptation might prove too much even for nudist kids.

Also, as far as I know the kids are all nudists who are used to being nude and seeing others nude. It's not like they're advertising to the general public to drop their kids off there. If your average teenage boys and girls spent a few days nude together at a summer camp (especially without adult supervision), I could just imagine what would be going on! However, those raised in nudist homes, while they certainly have sexual desires if they're alive, have much healthier attitudes and respect for themselves and others.

[MikeJB]

I wonder if the people who made such alleged charges on this camp ever even went there and gathered any evidence or proof of such negligence because I just dont see any camp doing this, a nudist camp of all places, most nudist camps seem to be much more organized and supervised than any textile camp and beleive me ive been to 2 textile camps when I was younger and really there was at best 1 counselor for at least alomst 10 kids in each cabin and personally I think thats a bit much for one person to handle and there shouldve at least been one more counselor in each cabin *of course some did have 2 people in them but those were only the ones the staff who came with the group I was a part of were staying in* and the conditions at the second camp were worse and honestly I just dont think that most textile camps run at the caliber that alot of nudist camps do.

[Bob S.]

One of the reasons why White Tail may have been chosen to host this teen camp is because they have hosted a Junior Fest for many years. This is for the children about up to 12 opr 15. It is usually a 3 day event (with the parents there) where activities are planned throughout the weekend (not necessarily all the time).

This Teen Camp had to follow all of the rules for a summer camp as spelled out by the Social Services department that regulates child care (which is my bible at work). I went to the site last year when they were advertising the camp and looked at the application, which was the typical child care application. But this camp requires even more as not only must the camper's family be a member of the AANR, but they also must be a member of an AANR-affliliated club/park and have a letter of recommendation from that club/park.

(info gathered from AANR-ER (http://www.aanr-east.com/jesacamp.htm) )

Mike, I looked at the regulations and not seeing any other set of numbers for overnight camps I am going to assume that the numbers are the same that I use.

Ratio for counselor:camper for school-aged children is 1:20. And even for someone who is used to it, that can be a bit daunting, but managable. I am more comfortable when I have at most 15 school agers. For the younger kids, I prefer about 8 in the 2-4 years of age. Ratios are 1:10 for kids 2-3 years of age and 1:12 for four-year-old kids.

And I also agree that two counselors per cabin would be the best, but sometimes not feasable.

Bob S.

[SargentIV]

Mr. Jack Reid you say? Funny that guy lives on the street next to mine. Pity he won't get my vote in November.

[Uurgu]

If the ratio is so low and the parents have consented to this type of supervision, then why do the lawmakers have a problem? Are there precedents that show children's safety is in jeopardy? What facts to they have?

I visited this park's web page (I do not live near there) and I noticed they have Christian services. Are they genuine or is it just a misuse of the Christian tag to get support from conservative Americans. I wonder if there are qualification requirements for the camp leadership i.e. are all of the counselors men over 50 you know the stereotype nudist. Usually, camp counselors are around 18-21 with maybe a few older adults managing the event.

Seems to me the lawmakers might not have much success here if this can be shown.

[Trailscout]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Excerpt from comments originally posted by Uurgu:
...I visited this park's web page (I do not live near there) and I noticed they have Christian services. Are they genuine or is it just a misuse of the Christian tag to get support from conservative Americans.... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>They are genuine Christians who were of enormous help with last year's Christian Nudist Convocation.

We will meet there again in June 2004, returning in great part because we think so highly of them.

The 2004 Christian Nudist Convocation (http://www.cheef.com/cnnf/cnc/)

[Bob S.]

Uurgu, since when have lawmakers needed a reason to make laws? All that is needed is something that they do not like and they will attack it. Just like last year when Rep. Foley went after the AANR summer teen leadership camps in his homestate of Florida. He was concerned that children were being exploited despite this thing occurring under his nose for ten years and he had never heard anything about it (meaning nothing bad was happening there).

"I visited this park's web page (I do not live near there) and I noticed they have Christian services."

They use the area of the recreation building that has a stage as their fellowship hall. That is where they meet and worship. I have been there during that time (though I did not stay as I am not a Christian). But it seemed to be just a regualar service.

"I wonder if there are qualification requirements for the camp leadership i.e. are all of the counselors men over 50 you know the stereotype nudist."

The qualifications for the counselors are stringent. They must have completed the leasership camp in Florida and be selected to go. And I am assuming the leadership camp in Florida has similar requirements for its campers as does the one in Virginia such as membership in both the AANR and an affiliated group/park. And the camper must have a letter of recommendation from the group/park. I would also hope that a background check os done on each counselor-to-be.

Bob S.

[FLslimguy]

The only (self-serving) reason that Foley attacked the Como Youth Camp here in Florida was for HIS POLITICAL GAIN. Geez..when are people going to begin understanding this?

When I went to my youth camp at age 14, it was all about sex ...a Christian Church camp no less...The councilors were not checked out and this was how we all learned about sex. Every youth camp today is still the same way. Time for kids to be away from home and experiment with raging hormones.... All that is EXCEPT nudist camps where that sort of pressure is OFF. The effort is much wholesome and NONsexual.

For ignorant reasons, politians and religious leaders continue to spew there poisonous comments about nudist youth camps for their own self-serving, self-righteous goals. They continue to tell the public lies and un-truths (see how kind I am to the parsons..?) Unfortunately Virginia has the same type of corrupted politians as those who are here in Florida. (and probably everywhere else..) They are on their heels and fighting for political survival so why not drag out an issue that "most" voters could agree with...and "hey, let's get the church involved..."

...anybody know a catholic priest who needs a little cover...?

[Rex]

Have a look at Nude Camping; it's not just for adults anymore.
http://www.usanewsandviews.com/nude_camping.htm
I've already emailed the author, [a lawyer], and told him I wouldn't use a lawyer who makes assumptions, based on lack of experience, and presents them as facts. A few more emails wouldn't do any harm.

[NakedSteve]

VIRGINIA HB 158 - The Time for Action is NOW! You WILL make a
difference.

We appreciate the many of you on our Government Affairs watch group
who have been following Virginia HB 158 very, very closely. For
those new to this group, the bill would severely limit nudist youth
leadership camps in the state by forbidding such camps unless
parents attend. Several weeks ago, the bill cleared the House side
by a very wide margin.

Until this point, we had asked members of the group to hold back
from contacting lawmakers until AANR and AANR East could be sure we
would maximize the effectiveness of your contact. Well the time is
NOW.

Status Report. Thanks to extremely hard work by the lobbyist whom
your AANR / AANR East dues funded, plus repeated visits to the state
capitol in Richmond by volunteers from White Tail Park and
elsewhere, HB 158 remained tied up in the Senate's Agriculture
committee until today, when, instead of holding a hearing on it, the
committee referred the bill to the Education and Health Committee.
This is incredibly significant because, (1) it slowed the bill's
progress; and (2) the membership of the Education and Health
Committee, while presenting some challenges, is one of the more
neutral playing fields that we could have hoped for. A hearing on
the bill is likely to take place very soon.

What does all this mean? You have a genuine opportunity to help us
stop the bill that some said was unstoppable!

As we speak, a first class mailing is going out to each and every
AANR / AANR East member in Virginia. We're so serious about stopping
HB 158 that we have committed over $1500 to this mailing alone. But
YOU have a chance to be among the first people that the lawmakers in
Education and Health hear from.

What Do You Do? Below you will find a list of all members of the
Education and Health Committee, including---and especially---the
chairman. We've included the president pro tempore in our suggested
recipient list because, while not a member of the committee, he is
extremely influential in affecting the course of legislation. You
will also find e-mail addresses, fax numbers, and other contact
information as well as a template message. The template is simply to
help you frame your points - your own words are most effective.

Please send an e-mail, fax, letter, phone call (or, best, all four!)
to as many of the people on this list as you possibly can. We know
from reliable sources---including those who have made visits---that
lawmakers are now "on the fence" (and, in particular, all Democrats
as well as Sen. Quayle). Your message may literally mean the
difference between stopping or not stopping this bill. So please
don't delay.

If we could ask just one more favor, it would be that you cc our
assistant Steve Vickers on your message so we can track response.
His e-mail address is clericalasst@aanr.com . As a graduate of the
nudist leadership camp program, he can also answer questions you may
have.


newest letter from aanr