Here's the naked truth: San Francisco will once again be the butt of national ridicule -- or a beacon of freedom of expression -- depending on your point of view. The latest issue? Public nudity.

Supervisor Scott Wiener introduced legislation today that would require nudists to cover their seat if they take a seat in public and to cover up when they're in a restaurant.

The issue, he said, isn't a moral one about the appropriateness or inappropriateness of public nudity - "That's a different debate for a different day," he said.

"What this does do," he added, "is require that people show some basic courtesy and decency toward their fellow citizens when they are naked."

Wiener represents the Castro, a favorite gathering spot for a hard-core group of nudists who hang out in the plaza near Market and Castro streets and aren't shy about walking around the neighborhood. They are unabashed in their brazenness, setting off a robust debate.

City officials have, for the most part, kept hands off the naked guys, not wanting to offend those who embrace an anything-goes culture of tolerance that has made San Francisco famous. Some nearby business owners and residents, including parents with young kids, have said enough is enough, and have called on officials to crack down on the nudists.

Wiener's proposal would make it illegal for nudists to sit on public seating without placing a towel or similar barrier between their body and the seat, or to go into restaurants au natural.



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