Offensive content and moral outrage

How exactly do they define an "offense to public decency"?
From what I gather, being naked in public—like at a beach that isn't officially designated as clothing-optional—counts as one of these offenses. Lately, local code enforcement officers have been patrolling certain stretches of our coastline that have always functioned as unofficial nudist spots, threatening people with fines. Specifically, the beach I’m talking about is a few miles outside of town and isn't even developed. There have always been FBI signs posted on the trees, but now the officer is claiming those aren't official markings and were just put up by some random person. Is there any way for someone to actually defend the right to be nude at a spot like this? Like, how do you hold your ground and avoid getting slapped with a fine for "offending the moral sensibilities of citizens"?
With such vague categories for these kinds of "crimes," wouldn't it be possible for anyone to sue anyone else for all sorts of absurd "moral offenses"? It feels like some ultra-conservative could sue any girl wearing a miniskirt in the city, or some religious extremist could go after any woman walking down the street just because she isn't wearing a burka.

http://www.law.gov/z/279/Law-on-public-order-and-peace

Look, you don't just get to skip out on the fine, because once they trigger those mandatory collections, you're looking at jail time—and trust me, the folks in there aren't exactly going to be thrilled if you try to pull that whole nudist routine on them.

ambermason82 said:How exactly do they define an "offense to public decency"?
From what I gather, being naked in public—like at a beach that isn't officially designated as clothing-optional—counts as one of these offenses. Lately, local code enforcement officers have been patrolling certain stretches of our coastline that have always functioned as unofficial nudist spots, threatening people with fines. Specifically, the beach I’m talking about is a few miles outside of town and isn't even developed. There have always been FBI signs posted on the trees, but now the officer is claiming those aren't official markings and were just put up by some random person. Is there any way for someone to actually defend the right to be nude at a spot like this? Like, how do you hold your ground and avoid getting slapped with a fine for "offending the moral sensibilities of citizens"?
With such vague categories for these kinds of "crimes," wouldn't it be possible for anyone to sue anyone else for all sorts of absurd "moral offenses"? It feels like some ultra-conservative could sue any girl wearing a miniskirt in the city, or some religious extremist could go after any woman walking down the street just because she isn't wearing a burka.

http://www.law.gov/z/279/Law-on-public-order-and-peace

Look, I don't think your actual issue here is conservatism or people's "morals," it’s really just about following the rules. Being a nudist isn't inherently immoral, but
if you're at a beach that isn't designated for it, you can't just decide to be a nudist there. There's a whole laundry list of restrictions at different beaches—no driving cars, no bikes, no pets, no unlicensed food vendors, no booze, no camping, and so on—and this is just one more rule on that list.
Also, honestly, that link you posted is way too broad for this specific debate since every single municipality passes its own local ordinances regarding public order and peace (always "in accordance with state law, local custom, and public morality"), so you should probably check out the specific city code for whichever town that beach is actually located in. If there aren't any official clothing-optional spots nearby, maybe you all could start a petition to get that unofficial beach officially recognized?

Section 6.
Look, you can't just be wandering around without a swimsuit unless you're actually on one of those designated clothing-optional beaches. It’s pretty straightforward, right?

And don't even think about walking into shops, restaurants, or any other businesses while you're still in your swimwear—unless, of course, the place is specifically set up to serve people coming straight from the water.

Section 27.
Just so we're clear, the local police department in Malibu and the municipal enforcement officers for the City of Malibu are the ones tasked with making sure everyone actually follows this public order ordinance.

vividraven26, you're quoting some local public order ordinance instead of the actual misdemeanor law against public order I posted above.

The beach I'm talking about is in Malibu, and their official public order ordinance DOESN'T have a clause against nudity on beaches—you can check it yourself. They only have rules for business premises. :-)

They went and amended the public order ordinance about a month ago just to add this:
"In addition to the designated areas, swimming and sunbathing on all public beaches—whether developed or undeveloped—is prohibited without wearing a bottom half of a swimsuit."

Total Middle Ages vibes. Love that for us.

Now I’m wondering, since the wording is such a mess, if I could win in court by just carrying my trunks in my hand instead of actually wearing them. :-)

ambermason82 said:They went and amended the public order ordinance about a month ago just to add this:
"In addition to the designated areas, swimming and sunbathing on all public beaches—whether developed or undeveloped—is prohibited without wearing a bottom half of a swimsuit."

Total Middle Ages vibes. Love that for us.

Now I’m wondering, since the wording is such a mess, if I could win in court by just carrying my trunks in my hand instead of actually wearing them. :-)

Just look at how "old school" certain coastal spots are. Take places like Malibu or even high-end spots like Miami or Saint Tropez—walking around town in a bikini or shirtless will cost you about $40, and if you want to lounge on the beach in just a monokini or nothing at all, it’s the same $40. Just an FYI, though: if you get caught having sex on the beach, you're looking at a fine up to $15,000 and potentially 30 days in jail. That rule applies to the whole coastline.

ambermason82 said:vividraven26, you're quoting some local public order ordinance instead of the actual misdemeanor law against public order I posted above.

The beach I'm talking about is in Malibu, and their official public order ordinance DOESN'T have a clause against nudity on beaches—you can check it yourself. They only have rules for business premises. :-)

See, there it is, they've got it right there. And since you've got the article from the misdemeanor law, you can pretty much see how the fine is calculated.

ambermason82 said:They went and amended the public order ordinance about a month ago just to add this:
"In addition to the designated areas, swimming and sunbathing on all public beaches—whether developed or undeveloped—is prohibited without wearing a bottom half of a swimsuit."

Total Middle Ages vibes. Love that for us.

Now I’m wondering, since the wording is such a mess, if I could win in court by just carrying my trunks in my hand instead of actually wearing them. :-)

Nobody is hugging anyone, man, just go to a clothing-optional beach and enjoy yourself.http://www.adriagate.com/America-hr...plaze-America

The wording is perfectly clear.