CARNAL NATION

The town of Ashland, Oregon, may have exposed itself legally with its ban on full-frontal nudity in certain municipal areas. In 2004, the city council adopted a ban on the display of genitals in the downtown area and in public parks; the rest of the city apparently had no limits on nudity. However, two visitors from California have recently pushed those limits, prompting the city council to consider extending the ban. The state of Oregon has no laws regulating nudity; it is up to local governments to enact and enforce any such laws.

Last year, Jen Moss, formerly of Ojai, California, came to Ashland for its liberal policy on clothing. She was frequently seen bicycling around town wearing only g-string, which led to the nickname "The Naked Lady." Because of the g-string, she did not violate any laws; however, her intention to march in the 2008 Fourth of July parade in the g-string led to some fireworks. The chairman of the parade, James Kidd, with the support of the Chamber of Commerce informed Moss that she could not participate in the parade as she planned. "She's welcome on any other day of the year to do that," Kidd said. "But not on the Fourth of July while in the parade." But not everyone agreed with this position. City councilman Eric Navickas said, "[It would be] an interesting commentary on our society that we're willing to tolerate dead bodies through our aggressive foreign policy from the war, but not healthy, naked bodies." Moss did not march and has since left Ashland.

Enter Tony Cooper, a man in his 70s from the San Francisco Bay Area, who like Moss came to Ashland for the nudity. While little else is known about the man, he was often seen earlier this summer wandering around fully naked, which alarmed some residents. When he strolled by a local elementary, a young girl started to cry, so the school crossing guard called the police. However, the police could do nothing about it. Police Chief Terry Holderness said, "To the best of our knowledge he's never violated any public indecency laws." While the crossing guard claims the girl will be "scarred for life," Holderness encouraged parents to be more proactive about handling the issue of the town's nudism with their children. "If you think your child is likely to be offended or have issue with seeing a naked person, then maybe you should walk your child home from school or have a discussion with your child," Holderness said.

On Tuesday, the city council voted 4-2 to extend the ban on full-frontal nudity to areas near schools. However, before implementing the extended ban, the council has directed city attorney Richard Appicello to research the legality of the original 2004 ban as well as the newly passed extension. Several residents and the two dissenting council members say that the restrictions may violate rights to freedom of expression. The issue seems to come down to that old "freedom from" vs. "freedom to" argument. Either way, someone in Ashland is going to be left flapping in the breeze.