Public nudes wear thin - Brattleboro

[Bushnud2]

Public nudes wear thin
Town that looked other way eyes ban

July 17

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070717/NEWS07/707170363/1009 2007

BY JOHN CURRAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -- Topless women on parade, teenagers loitering in the buff in a downtown parking lot and naked sunbathers at swimming holes -- all were OK.

But then a senior citizen walked through the center of town on a Friday night, wearing only a fanny pack.

And after years of allowing public nudity, Brattleboro is considering banning it in parts of town, saying the notoriety has begun drawing people and is offending locals. The town's Select Board plans to introduce an emergency ordinance today.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you should," said board member Dick DeGray. "You can't go into a store and buy an adult magazine until you're 18, and yet you can walk down the street in Vermont and see naked people. There's something wrong with that picture."

The last straw apparently came July 6, when a 68-year-old man showed up naked during the downtown Gallery Walk, a monthly social event in which people stop in at art galleries and stores. The man said he was from Arizona and had decided to vacation in Brattleboro after reading about its public nudity freedom.

Vermont has no state laws against public nudity, though some towns have enacted anti-nudity ordinances.

"It's time they did something about it," said Sherwood Smith, manager of Baskets Bookstore, which is located near the parking lot where naked teens gathered last summer. "It hurts a store like this. People who are likely to buy used books are often conservative middle-aged people, or older."

Others oppose the move.

"I don't like the idea of them taking the rights to something natural away," said Rhiannon Curtis.

"I like to swim naked, and that would be affected if they do this. Vermont doesn't need to conform to the rest of society's uptight rules."

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[Bushnud2]

Public nudes wear thin
Town that looked other way eyes ban

July 17

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070717/NEWS07/707170363/1009 2007

BY JOHN CURRAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -- Topless women on parade, teenagers loitering in the buff in a downtown parking lot and naked sunbathers at swimming holes -- all were OK.

But then a senior citizen walked through the center of town on a Friday night, wearing only a fanny pack.

And after years of allowing public nudity, Brattleboro is considering banning it in parts of town, saying the notoriety has begun drawing people and is offending locals. The town's Select Board plans to introduce an emergency ordinance today.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you should," said board member Dick DeGray. "You can't go into a store and buy an adult magazine until you're 18, and yet you can walk down the street in Vermont and see naked people. There's something wrong with that picture."

The last straw apparently came July 6, when a 68-year-old man showed up naked during the downtown Gallery Walk, a monthly social event in which people stop in at art galleries and stores. The man said he was from Arizona and had decided to vacation in Brattleboro after reading about its public nudity freedom.

Vermont has no state laws against public nudity, though some towns have enacted anti-nudity ordinances.

"It's time they did something about it," said Sherwood Smith, manager of Baskets Bookstore, which is located near the parking lot where naked teens gathered last summer. "It hurts a store like this. People who are likely to buy used books are often conservative middle-aged people, or older."

Others oppose the move.

"I don't like the idea of them taking the rights to something natural away," said Rhiannon Curtis.

"I like to swim naked, and that would be affected if they do this. Vermont doesn't need to conform to the rest of society's uptight rules."

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[Bushnud2]

Someone should find this 68 year old man, and advise him.

[nudeM]

As strong as I am for allowing nudists their 'space', I tend to agree with the locals on this one. Even though it was perfectly legal, this 68 year old man took advantage of the circumstances and strolled downtown, nude. This gentleman wasn't even a local. He was a tourist from Arizona that took advantage of the 'nude free' laws.

Sometime ago, when this first made the headlines, about the teenagers who liked to hang around the park in the buff, with no laws prohibiting nudity, I thought to myself, how long would it take for someone to ruin it. Apparently it didn't even make a year. If this 'no laws' issue didn't make the headlines, then this wouldn't even be an issue right now. But since it was 'bull-horned' to the entire world, then it didn't take long for out-of-towners to show up and take advantage.

It's one thing to have the right to be allowed to roam around a town in the buff legally, but once it is announced to the world, then you run the chance of people showing up and, the next thing you know, you have a bunch of nudes on the streets. It would have been acceptable to the locals if the news hadn't travelled out, and the nudity remained among locals. But now you have out of towners showing up and walking the streets, naked.

From what I understand, nudity will still be allowed, but only in certain areas, not city wide as before. Dam tourists. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/smoking.gif

[nudepartime]

I would not change a thing. Just a little more advertising and this town could have a tourist boom like they have never seen! Once again government trying to screw up a good thing!

[nimrod]

God forbid tourist would come to a town and spend their money in its shops and hotels and boost the local economy. Where do people get off thinking of taking advatage of a poor town like that. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/rolleyes2.gif

Seriously though, the only people who are spoiling a good thing are the same people who were against the teens puplic nudity at the begining, they are just now using the mans nudity has another arguement to pass yet another anti-nudity law.

[Bobx23456]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by nimrod:
God forbid tourist would come to a town and spend their money in its shops and hotels and boost the local economy. Where do people get off thinking of taking advatage of a poor town like that. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/rolleyes2.gif

Seriously though, the only people who are spoiling a good thing are the same people who were against the teens puplic nudity at the begining, they are just now using the mans nudity has another arguement to pass yet another anti-nudity law. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The Vermont obscenity law is similar to that in California and Washington. Yet we see the Huntington Beach council trying to pass a law making simple nudity illegal after the courts slapped them for arresting a naked man in his own home, and the Seattle police arrested 3 men this week for participating in the nude bike ride.

One day a long time ago America was a free country.

Blessings

Bob

[Naturist Mark]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">As strong as I am for allowing nudists their 'space', I tend to agree with the locals on this one. Even though it was perfectly legal, this 68 year old man took advantage of the circumstances and strolled downtown, nude. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Seems to me that the locals were willing to tolerate nude young men and topless women who are fit and good looking, but reached their last straw when a long past nubile senior citizen took advantage of the freedom they offer.

Gosh yes, blame the geezer.

[missouriboy]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Even though it was perfectly legal, this 68 year old man took advantage of the circumstances and strolled downtown, nude. This gentleman wasn't even a local. He was a tourist from Arizona that took advantage of the 'nude free' laws. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Why not just go ahead and follow this line of thought to its logical conclusion? If the proposed law banning nudity were itself illegal (unconstitutional) then nudity would not be any reason to travel from Arizona to Vermont! Would it?

"...the natural Right of the People, to enjoy contact between their Natural corpus and their Natural environment, shall not be infringed..." http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif

"Let Every BODY See The Light!" Remember? http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[Skinview]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by nudeM:
As strong as I am for allowing nudists their 'space', I tend to agree with the locals on this one. Even though it was perfectly legal, this 68 year old man took advantage of the circumstances and strolled downtown, nude. This gentleman wasn't even a local. He was a tourist from Arizona that took advantage of the 'nude free' laws.

It's one thing to have the right to be allowed to roam around a town in the buff legally, but once it is announced to the world, then you run the chance of people showing up and, the next thing you know, you have a bunch of nudes on the streets. It would have been acceptable to the locals if the news hadn't travelled out, and the nudity remained among locals. But now you have out of towners showing up and walking the streets, naked. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

If someone is standing on the street corner naked, what difference does it make where he is from??? Should a person's rights disappear when they leave their town??

[TheNorm]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">It's one thing to have the right to be allowed to roam around a town in the buff legally, but once it is announced to the world, then you run the chance of people showing up and, the next thing you know, you have a bunch of nudes on the streets. It would have been acceptable to the locals if the news hadn't travelled out, and the nudity remained among locals. But now you have out of towners showing up and walking the streets, naked. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I wonder how the town will spend all that incremental revenue generated from tourist dollars. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif

[Bobx23456]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Skinview:
If someone is standing on the street corner naked, what difference does it make where he is from??? Should a person's rights disappear when they leave their town?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It seems to make a difference what age the naked person is. Young people have been naked in the center of town for a long time, but when an older man goes naked, it's a "problem."

Likewise, I wonder if it would have caused as much concern if a female had been naked in town. Is it misandry as well as age prejudice?

Blessings

Bob