San Fransisco's Nudists Forced to Sit on Their Towels

KOMPAS.com - Nudists in San Francisco might soon lose some of their freedom to bare it all. Walking around naked is still legal. But new legislation introduced on Tuesday would require nudists to put something under their bottoms if they sit down in a public place.

Under city supervisor Scott Wiener's proposal, nudists would also be required to cover up when they are in a restaurant. The supervisor said the legislation would ensure that public health standards are met by requiring nudists to put a towel or similar item between their body and a public seat.

'San Francisco is a liberal and tolerant city, and we pride ourselves on that fact,' Wiener said in a statement.

'Yet, while we have a variety of views about public nudity, we can all agree that when you sit down naked, you should cover the seat, and that you should cover up when you go into a food establishment,' the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Wiener claims to have received numerous constituent complaints and saw some of the unsanitary behaviour himself—particularly in the gay-centric Castro area of the city.

'One would hope we wouldn’t need to legislate this, but people aren’t doing it,' he said. Wiener said that his office has not received any complaints from local nudist groups about the proposal.