Will someone please think of the pumpkins!

[Funka Genocide]

Well the fact that this has gone on for years is kind of odd though. I mean if its been against the law and the law simply hasn't been enforced that kind of sends an inaccurate message that its ok with the system.

Really what you have here is an escalation of magnitude forcing officials to act. Like if it would have been kept low key they probably could have gotten away with it, but since it has a larger stage its kind of hard to keep under the radar, and I assume accountability is a big part of being a law enforcement official.

One could of course also point towards the tail end of a severe trend towards conservatism in national politics as a motivating factor.

Although I will agree that arresting them as sex offenders seems wrong and only tenuously legal at best. They aren't doing anything sexual in nature and as such they should only be arrested for public indecency (which I hope isn't a sex-offender worthy crime.)

I also feel this way about people who are arrested for having consensual sex in public, it should only be treated as a misdemeanor, but then you bring into it a lot of really hard to determine factors (children watching, religious beliefs etc.) and it might also be classified as a form of sexual assault. So I mean really, this is a much more complex issue than just "let the nudists have their fun, they're not hurting anyone!" and it feels sort of weird for me to be the sensitive one on an issue for a change.

[MasterOfMagic]

Well the fact that this has gone on for years is kind of odd though. I mean if its been against the law and the law simply hasn't been enforced that kind of sends an inaccurate message that its ok with the system.

I agree, and that's why I don't think they should have made such a sudden switch this year.

Anyway, it seems they did exactly as you suggested:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8336308.stm

Local reports say with up to 4,000 people taking part in Halloween revelry, a handful of individuals did take part in the run, but that when police caught up with them they were sufficiently clothed as to be "within the law".

[Funka Genocide]

wow they even used some of the same terminology I did.

well there you go. Nudists help support my assumption that I'm not a complete idiot.

[MasterOfMagic]

Although I will agree that arresting them as sex offenders seems wrong and only tenuously legal at best. They aren't doing anything sexual in nature and as such they should only be arrested for public indecency (which I hope isn't a sex-offender worthy crime.)

Also worthy of note is that public indecency apparently does get you registered as a sex-offender.

Just in case you were planning anything.

[Funka Genocide]

damn dude that's harsh.

looks like I'll need to install some curtains in the beamer.

[POS Industries]

Originally Posted by FenrisWolf

your definition of being a perv is going up to children and masturbating in their faces.

So.... You're saying I should probably stop doing that, then?

Welp, there goes my sunday night routine.