More Nude Protests Set for San Francisco This Week and Next

SAN FRANCISCO—On Wednesday, January 23 at 7 PM, Gypsy Taub on MyNakedTruth.TV will hold a protest at the San Francisco branch of the Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC), 455 Golden Gate Avenue, SF, in the Milton Marks Auditorium. "Join us for another fun naked protest in a government building!" Taub exclaimed. "Tell the Democratic Party what you think of Scott Wiener, David Chiu and other Republicans disguised as Democrats. The rally will include two minutes of public comment followed by a mass strip tease and cops with blankets. "Don’t miss this outrageous fun!" Taub said. "Bring a friend with a camera; go viral on YouTube. And don't forget to bring your ID in a sock to get released fast if we get detained." Then, on Friday, February 1 at noon, SF's nudists and supporters will stage a nudity ban protest on the steps of City Hall, SF, facing the library, regardless of how Judge Chen, the judge who's hearing Taub's and others' class action lawsuit against the new ordinance, rules. "Come protest the nudity ban and celebrate body freedom with us!" Taub urged. "If Judge Chen grants our preliminary injunction, public nudity will be legal at least until he is done with our case which may take a number of hearings. If Judge Chen denies the injunction, public nudity will be illegal in San Francisco starting on February 1. However, the US Constitution protects political speech. If we get arrested or fined while at the protest nude, it will be a blatant violation of our First Amendment right. Should the city authorities chose to arrest us, it will greatly strengthen our case against them. Either way, we win and they lose. If you choose not to get naked, please join us anyway." On January 17, 2013, Federal Judge Edward Chen held the first hearing of the class action lawsuit filed by the nudists against the City of San Francisco. The nudist activists are happy with the comments made by the judge. Even though the judge is not convinced that nudity by itself constitutes political speech, he did corner the Deputy City Attorney Tara Steely when he asked her what would happen if a nude person were to hold a political sign. After beating around the bush for a few minutes, she had to admit that the nude protester would get prosecuted. Steely said that if exemptions were made for political speech, it would defeat the whole legislation. Doesn’t this make it clear that this legislation is incompatible with the US Constitution? Judge Chen also expressed a notion that individual rights are more important than the opinion of the crowd, after listening to Tara Steely go on and on about how Castro residents don’t like to look at naked men. Deputy City Attorney Tara Steely claimed that 85 percent of businesses are losing money because of the nudists, which is a blatant lie. Many tourists come to Castro because of its international image of tolerance, liberty and sexual freedom. Tourists spend all day taking pictures of the nudists as well as with the nudists, as those who haven’t been to Jane Warner Plaza may not know. Steely spent a lot of time talking about nude men causing traffic distractions and potential car accidents. Judge Chen asked her if she had any evidence to support that claim. She had none, but said that she didn’t need any to enforce the ordinance. "If we use Ms. Steely’s logic, the next thing we will have to outlaw is pretty women; they are known to cause traffic distractions," Taub observed. "Besides, this claim contradicts Ms. Steely’s earlier claim that people in the Castro don’t like to look at nudists. The question arises, if they hate looking at nudists so much, then why are they staring at them to the point of causing an accident?" "Steely also claimed that another danger to the public is residents having to create human barricades to shield the children from the view of naked bodies," Taub continued. "It appears as though Ms Steely has never been to Castro and is hoping that the judge hasn’t either." "The most balanced and accurate media coverage of the hearing on January 17 that I have seen was in the Oregon Herald." For more information, contact Gypsy Taub here or here, or call 510-318-1750.