21 Jul, 2009
California Beach Update- Nude Proponents will Appeal
Posted by: Beach Reporter In: beaches| california
California parks officials can enforce a ban on nudity at any state beach, even in areas that have been informally designated as “clothing optional,” a state appeals court says. Warn, cite or arrest? That is the question, according to a spokesman for California State Parks and Recreation Department.
Huntington Beach Attorney Allen Baylis wants the state to lighten up, but a court ruling last week that shook a 30-year-old policy of live and let live, will no longer be in effect. Nudies must put some clothes on or risk going to jail. At California beaches it is a long tradition that swimmers and surfers strip quickly, changing out of wetsuits and salty ocean attire into some dry, clean duds. If taken to the extreme, they, too, could be cited or carted off.
State beaches up and down the coast that could be impacted range from Gray Whale Cove in San Mateo County to San Onofre State Beach in Orange County. Golden Gate National Recreation Area, North Baker Beach, and the private Muir Beach in Marin County remain several bastions of nude beach sunbathing. National Parks Service doesn’t prohibit nude sunbathing, but its beaches are mostly in the bay area where the weather is cool and foggy quite often. The number of sunbathing days is limited compared to Southern California.
Nude sunbathing and skinny dipping are enjoyed throughout the Midwest and other parts of the U.S. California needs to focus on keeping its beaches open, user-friendly and available to a variety of individuals and interests, says Baylis, who points to an American tradition of skinny dipping.
One coalition suggests that “the emperor has no clothes. ”
Note: This nude sunbathing link may need updating as the recent court ruling takes stronghold.
