Today a federal district judge ordered the City and County of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department to issue a parade permit to George Davis, Gypsy Taub, and a group of other urban nudists.  Davis and Taub are currently in litigation with the City over whether San Francisco’ nudity ban can be enforced against individual engaged in political demonstration supporting body freedom and condemning the recently enacted ban.

 This separate  skirmish involved the SFPD’s refusal to grant a parade permit to the nude activist.  This is critical because permitted parades are exempt from the nudity ban.  But the SFPD stated that the group of 50 to 100 activists did not qualify as a parade and they must therefore walk on the sidewalk without a permit, and without the protection of the permit exemption to the ordinance.  District Judge Seeborg found that the ordinance failed to offer any guidelines on the number of people required for a parade and therefore the ordinance gave the SFPD too much discretion making the provision unconstitutional.

The parade of naked activists will take place in San Francisco starting at Jane Warner Plaza at noon tomorrow.

First Amendment attorneys D. Gill Sperlein an Lawrence Walters represented the plaintiffs.