Obsolete laws

[Agde]

I just noticed that the UK Law Commission is scheduled to publish the next Statute Law Repeals Report (http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/statute.htm) early in 2008. It will contain a draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill to repeal all the obsolete laws identified in the Report.


Is anybody working to make sure obsolete nudity or topfree laws are included?
Does anybody know of similar commissions in other countries or US states?
There are a number of websites that collect examples of "dumb laws" as a matter of humour, but does anybody know of an activist group or organization that actually gathers lists and helps coordinate the repeal of obsolete laws?

My thought was just that it could be useful to work inside broader "legal cleanup" efforts to revise things like references to female anatomy, definitions of "private parts" and basically anything dealing with dress codes or personal choice of attire.

[Pete Knight]

I just noticed that the UK Law Commission is scheduled to publish the next Statute Law Repeals Report (http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/statute.htm) early in 2008. It will contain a draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill to repeal all the obsolete laws identified in the Report.

Is anybody working to make sure obsolete nudity or topfree laws are included?
Does anybody know of similar commissions in other countries or US states?
There are a number of websites that collect examples of "dumb laws" as a matter of humour, but does anybody know of an activist group or organization that actually gathers lists and helps coordinate the repeal of obsolete laws?My thought was just that it could be useful to work inside broader "legal cleanup" efforts to revise things like references to female anatomy, definitions of "private parts" and basically anything dealing with dress codes or personal choice of attire.

Yes, our national organisation CCBN (http://www.british-naturism.org.uk/) is watching several new bills passing through the both houses and has had a direct input into some amendments, the most notable was the 'Sexual Offences Act 2003' which replaced a number of out dated and obsolete laws. The one under scrutiny at the moment is the 'Local Government Bill' which could allow local councils to create by-laws without clearance from central government, knowing how some of these councils work we could be propelled back into a Victorian era where table legs have to be covered.

The Sentencing Advisory Panel is being watched as they look into child photographs, there is a danger that family photographs could become illegal as the paedophilia paranoia takes a grip.


Pete Knight

[Agde]

Good to hear, Pete, thanks!

My basic hypothesis is that there is often a disconnect between peoples conscious thoughts, unconscious beliefs and public pronouncements.

My guess is that a large number of nudists consciously believe in the principles of naturism, but unconsciously still feel awkward. This gets translated into either being secretive or activist, with a nagging impulse to publicly confess to being a nudist or a perhaps over-zealous demand for public nudity as a right.

A smaller number, like my parents, unconsciously are very much in tune with naturist principles, but consciously don't give it much thought. This translates into liberal "family rules" but no commitment to a naturist community and no public pronouncements supporting naturism as a political movement.

The arch-nemesis for the former are people who share their unconscious beliefs without consciously admitting they are wrong, or at least over-restrictive. For the latter, it is people who make an unnecessarily big deal of nudity.

A corollary to the hypothesis is that public policy reflects the dynamics of public perception. Politicians are supposed to lead, but are also supposed to represent their constituencies, so they watch polls. Whatever their private views, the only clear integrated message they get is from the people with lined-up conscious, unconscious, and public views, such as nudity=sex, nudity=sex, and nudity=sex. I suspect that there is quite a large population of people who would fall in the category of non-sexual nudity is no big deal, non-sexual nudity is no big deal, and no opinion. Add to that the non-public nudists and there is a large silence.

My hypothesis suggests that the path of least resistance in cleaning up obsolete or overwrought nudity laws would not be a lined-up consensus that nudity is ok, but rather that nudity is no big deal if it is not sexual. But politicians need to see polls showing a clear majority at least shrugging their shoulders. So where are the polls?

[MichaelJB]

Yes, our national organisation CCBN is watching several new bills passing through the both houses and has had a direct input into some amendments, the most notable was the 'Sexual Offences Act 2003' which replaced a number of out dated and obsolete laws. The one under scrutiny at the moment is the 'Local Government Bill' which could allow local councils to create by-laws without clearance from central government, knowing how some of these councils work we could be propelled back into a Victorian era where table legs have to be covered.


If city councils want to make bylaws they really should have to make sure that they dont violate any state or federal laws so that these people cant just find some cheap way around higher up laws just to criminalize things that they dont happen to like. We need federal laws that protect nudists and dont allow individual cities or states to make bylaws to infringe on the rights of nudists.


The Sentencing Advisory Panel is being watched as they look into child photographs, there is a danger that family photographs could become illegal as the paedophilia paranoia takes a grip.


Our government really needs to get off its paranoid pedophilia high horse and see the difference between pornography and innocent family nudity. We cant let these people who want to impose their twisted family values on nudists to get away with it.

Mike

[walter05]

The law in question is for the UK not the US. It therefore has no effect on US Federal or State Laws. It also is not our government since we are American.

[Agde]

Although my original question applied to the UK, the idea and systematic approach might be something to consider importing to the US. Although in America, it would probably have to be a state-by-state effort, states have often borrowed legal language from each other, so that repeal or revision might similarly be replicated.

To paraphrase my original question, there are a number of websites that collect examples of "dumb laws" as a matter of humour, and NAC monitors legislative action on nudity, but does anybody know of any American activist group or organization that, on a broader basis, actually gathers lists and helps coordinate the repeal of obsolete laws?

[scubare]

The Naturist Society and American Association for Nude Recreation do a pretty good job of watchdogging Federal and State laws here. They keep an ear to the ground and do everything they can to prevent any new laws or changes in old laws that would prove harmful to our way of life.