[lentzr]

I am dead serious. My friend from NH, told me that in Vermont, some towns have no laws against public nudity. He told me taht this is to prevent people from registering as sex offenders for skinny dipping in the woods. However, people were abusing the law, even walking into public restaurants in the buff without getting arrested! Hence, some towns revised some of their laws.

Now, is he pulling my chain or has this really happened?

[VTgoneaway]

Basically yes. I think the laws predate drastic sex offender statues though. It is illegal to disrobe in public in VT but not to be naked in public. There are naked bike rides in Montpelier(and I think Burlington) every year. Brattleboro had some teenagers that took to hanging out naked and that got national coverage and caused some unsavory perv tourists to visit. There were two reported(in the paper) that I read of regarding people specifically visiting Brattleboro because of the nude teenager story and parading about naked. Not sure how much of an affect this had. Iirc despite the less than stellar attention the town still wouldn't outlaw public nudity. In the grand scheme the lack of public nudity laws apparently doesn't affect much(besides a buff bike ride or two), but who knows if there is a small cumulative cultural affect.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

I lived in Brattleboro when the nude teens first disrobed. On the first day, a cop rode by and said to the main nude, "How's it hanging?" I thought it was one of the funniest things I'd ever heard.

It was a very interesting time in Brattleboro, for sure. It was mainly harmless.

[arctichomesteader]

Seeing as how some people elsewhere have been turned into convicted sex offenders for merely relieving themselves in the woods or a nosey neighbor saw them undressed in their own home, I think the law here is actually a good idea despite the incident in Brattleboro...

[jackmccullough]

An interesting sidelight to this story is that many years ago, when our senior senator, Pat Leahy, was the Chittenden County State's Attorney, he wrote a memo endorsing the legality of skinny-dipping.

Here's the link, although I would point out that the title is incorrect because Leahy was never the attorney general.

Family Skinnydippers - An Attorney General's Reaction to Skinnydipping

[arel]

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

I lived in Brattleboro when the nude teens first disrobed. On the first day, a cop rode by and said to the main nude, "How's it hanging?" I thought it was one of the funniest things I'd ever heard.

It was a very interesting time in Brattleboro, for sure. It was mainly harmless.

And embarrassing. The town became a laughing stock.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by arel

And embarrassing. The town became a laughing stock.

I disagree. I lived on Elliot St throughout the saga and found it to be quite hilarious.

[MRVphotog]

I don't think it's much of issue either...if I remember the Bratt City Council passed an ordinance as a result of the last spat of public nudity which brought national attention which designates certain areas of the city as nude-free.

Apparently there was a nudecident the other day in Montpelier
Hot weather spurs nude walker in Montpelier: Times Argus Online

[nuderider]

Public nudity should not be illegal anywhere. In fact it would put an end to alot of perversion because pervs often rely on secrecy to engage in their behaviors. People just won't tolerate it. If someone is trying to be a pervert while they are nude in public it would be so obvious that they would quickly be nabbed.Public behavior is the issue not public dress code. Be naked if you want but behave yourself. It's not complicated really. Everybody has a body and should wear what they want or nothing of they choose, it's their body.

[swanstone1]

Well... I get numerous invites for the nude beach at Willoughby...I decline. But, My daughter and I were driving home from Montpelier and noticed a man blatantly bathing nude in the roadside spring. (main route) You know the ones that you can fill up your water bottles? So regardless of the law, I'll pay for water from now on.

Otherwise, my neighbor in NH informed me that there is no nudity within so many feet of a road and advised against . Probably figure that VT'ers are even more strict? Sorry, I even dig out the snow 3 feet deep to sunbathe nude while the friend fishes in Jan....? As long as one exercises discretion why does it matter?