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Hanging out on a street corner has taken on new meaning in San Francisco. Several dozen men and at least one woman took part in a naked protest Saturday in San Francisco's Castro District that has become known for its nude visitors. Some participants carried signs that read, "Nudity is Not a Crime" and "Get Your Hate Off My Body," . . .

Consider yourself warned: those naked guys in the Castro are going to turn out in force on Saturday for a noon-time “nude-in” at what they call The Buff Stop. (For non-nudists, that’s the plaza at the corner of Castro and 17th Street.) Though the naked guys aren’t fans of Supervisor Scott Wiener’s recently proposed legislation mandating that they put a towel down on a public chair or bench before sitting on it, the nude-in is actually unrelated. It was planned weeks ago as a sort of pre-party for Sunday’s Folsom Street Fair. Because, you know, that day-long celebration of all...

The citizens of San Francisco will be voting on a proposition that seeks to ban circumcision in that city. Though I am strongly opposed to the proposition, if it passes, some good may come of it. Let me explain. I am a passionate advocate of Jewish ritual known as the brit (often pronounced bris) -- the ritual circumcision of 8-day-old Jewish boys. I am even an advocate of circumcision generally. I was recently in Africa -- in Zimbabwe and Zambia -- where I delivered mosquito nets and seeds to the poorest of Africa's poor. I saw giant billboards there, as...

A few more points on today's column on the Supe Scott Wiener's proposed ordinance to regulate naked people dining and sitting in public places -- by requiring them to put something between their seats on those on which they sit. San Franciscans pride themselves in not particularly caring what happens between consenting adults. The problem: The City's nudists bare all without the consent of other adults -- many of whom are parents who want to enjoy the city with their children. I do not understand why restaurant owners do not refuse to serve naked patrons. It goes to show how...

There currently is a debate raging over public nudity in San Francisco. It’s not what you think. It’s already entirely legal to parade about in the buff on the city’s streets, and no one is discussing the resurrection of indecent-exposure laws. Rather, the question is whether sanitary behavior — namely, posterior protection for public seating — should be required of nudists by law. Reports the Los Angeles Times: Retired math teacher David Goldman and his husband, Michael Koehn, were sharing a pleasant alfresco moment at a public plaza in the heart of the Castro district this week, passing a slender...

San Francisco -- Supervisor Scott Wiener's proposed legislation about the nude guys in the Castro is already a success. That is, assuming his intention was to make kooky San Francisco a national joke while doing nothing about the core problem. Wiener has come up with a plan to compel the nudies to put something under their bottoms when they sit in public chairs and cover up in restaurants. "What I am proposing is noncontroversial," he said. "Rather than try to hit one out of the park and take on the broader issue of public nudity, I am proposing a modest...

The naked truth, it seems, is that San Francisco is once again going to emerge as a city ripe for ridicule -- or a beacon of free expression -- depending on your point of view. The latest issue? Public nudity. Supervisor Scott Wiener will introduce legislation today intended to get to the bottom of the gross-out factor when it comes to public nudity. His proposal would require people who bare all for all to see to at the very least place a towel or like item underneath them when they sit down. The proposed restrictions also would require nudists to...

I ran into a man I'd known for years at a supermarket the other day. He's an old San Francisco guy, so I was surprised at what he said. "I'm moving out of the city," he said. "San Francisco is not the city I grew up in anymore. I'm through with it. "Yep," he said, "I'm gonna sell my house and move to Novato. You know what? The sun shines there in the summer. I mean they have sun - that big yellow thing - sun in July and August. I'm tired of the fog - fog every night and...

A panel of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has acquitted a minister who was accused of violating the denomination's constitution by legally marrying his male partner. The church judicial commission split 3-3 Monday on the charge against the Rev. Erwin Barron, who is under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, but now works as a college professor in San Francisco.

As if San Francisco wasn't loopy enough, voters will be asked Tuesday to pass a ballot initiative, endorsed by the Democratic Party, that would bar police enforcing California's prostitution laws. The goal is to free up $11 million a year now spent collaring hookers so police can go after the real criminals: people who cook with trans fats; tote groceries in plastic bags, think bad thoughts about homosexuals, etc. If voters approve, hookers would enjoy the same special rights Frisco has bestowed upon illegal aliens, porn peddlers and medical-marijuana potheads. Among other things, a yes vote would increase prostitution, sex...

Finding a pro-deregulation stance in the media is often tough, but when if it suits some far out cause against societal norms, don't rule it out. Sunny Hostin, CNN "American Morning" legal analyst, examined the pros and cons of a San Francisco ballot measure to be voted on next month called Proposition K. The measure would decriminalize prostitution. But Hostin said there was a case, not for decriminalized prostitution - which reportedly will save $11 million in municipal police spending - but for legalization, which she claimed would "boost the economy in these economic times." "I think the more valid...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tensions soared at City Hall on Tuesday over a nonbinding resolution calling for the condemnation of the Israeli military's deadly raid on a flotilla headed for Gaza. At least nine people were killed by Israeli naval commandos during the May 31 raid on ships carrying aid for the isolated Gaza region, which is under an Israeli blockade.The legislation, sponsored by Supervisors John Avalos and Sophie Maxwell, has more than two dozen "whereas" clauses. It attempts to localize the attack that took place a half a world away by noting San Francisco's "recognition and understanding of our population's...

Supervisor Bevan Dufty met manthing sweeping up outside a nightclub While San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is all about policy and results now, and not personality and process, mayoral hopeful and Supervisor Bevan Dufty's new relationship might prove that the personal is still political. Dufty announced at a fundraiser -- his campaign for mayor, still in its early days, has raised $50,000 so far -- that he's in a new relationship with local realtor Pat Patricelli. "I was sweeping up broken glass outside Moby at 5:30 in the morning when he walked by with his dog, Luna," Dufty told...

San Francisco health officials reported an alarming increase in new syphilis cases last year after years of declines. New syphilis cases rose 55.8 percent in 2008 over the previous year, San Francisco public health officials reported. The increase was significantly lower than the dramatic spikes reported early in the decade, when new infections increased 167 percent from 2001 to 2002. But last year's rise would seem to indicate an increase in unsafe sexual practices, which could lead to a rise in HIV infection rates.

Folks, this according to the Thomas More Law Center: ANN ARBOR, MI – Tomorrow, December 16, 2009, at 10 AM PST, a panel of eleven judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in San Francisco will hear oral arguments concerning the constitutionality of San Francisco Board of Supervisor’s virulent resolution attacking the Catholic Church for its teachings against homosexual adoptions. The en banc panel will review the earlier opinion of a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit that upheld the resolution. Thomas More Law Center attorney Robert Muise will argue the case on behalf of the plaintiffs in...

There is one consolation for Mayor Gavin Newsom now that he's dropped out of the governor's race - he won't have to take a $72,477-a-year pay cut. Newsom, who earns $246,464 as mayor of San Francisco, would have seen his pay drop to $173,987 if he had won the governor's race, as a result of the salary cuts imposed on state elected officers last week.Under the new pay levels, the governor gets about $25,000 a year less than San Francisco's park and recreation director, Phil Ginsburg.And if District Attorney Kamala Harris wins the race to become the next attorney general,...

There is one consolation for Mayor Gavin Newsom now that he's dropped out of the governor's race - he won't have to take a $72,477-a-year pay cut. Newsom, who earns $246,464 as mayor of San Francisco, would have seen his pay drop to $173,987 if he had won the governor's race, as a result of the salary cuts imposed on state elected officers last week.

The City of San Francisco is hard up for cash, so they’ve decided to steal it from the Archdiocese of San Francisco because they can – nakedly, in broad daylight, without the slightest plausible legal pretense. The Church is openly hated and condemned in San Francisco for its support of Proposition 8 and its defense of human sexual morality in general. The City can steal from the Archdiocese because the City needs the money and because it makes the citizenry happy to stick it to the evil Catholic Church.Here’s some backstory from a previous post: When you sell a piece...

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