Parents Must Be Present at Nudist Camp for Youths

RICHMOND, Va., July 15 - A weeklong nudist camp for young people scheduled to start next week got some bad news from a federal judge here on Thursday.

True, the judge, Richard L. Williams, allowed the full array of naked camp activities to proceed, including, according to court papers, swimming, volleyball, tennis, table tennis, body painting, pudding fights, "shaving cream follies" and, alarmingly, darts.
 
But Judge Williams upheld a new Virginia law requiring that campers be accompanied by a parent or grandparent. An eyeful of naked Mom or Dad, he suggested, is a fair price for admission to nudist camp.

"The presence of a family member would in no way interfere with the child's participation in events," he said, ruling from the bench.

"A nudist camp is a bit racier than, say, a Boy Scout camp," he continued. "People who love their children or grandchildren will make a modest adjustment to their schedules so that their children and grandchildren can have this unique experience."

Rebecca K. Glenberg, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, which filed a suit challenging the law last month on behalf of the camp and three families, said the ruling would force 24 young people to drop out of the program because their parents, though committed nudists, would not be able to attend. Eleven others had planned to bring their parents all along.

"It's going to be a big loss to a lot of these kids, who were really looking forward to it," Ms. Glenberg said in an interview

The law, enacted this spring, says that nudist camps for juveniles may be licensed only if a parent, grandparent or guardian is "present with the juvenile at the same camp."

Ms. Glenberg argued that the law imposed a constitutionally intolerable infringement on the parents' rights to raise their children as they saw fit, as well as on the plaintiffs' rights to privacy and free expression.

"The natural state of human beings is unclothed," the civil liberties group said in its court papers.

Judge Williams took no position on that, and his ruling on Thursday was a preliminary one. The case will now proceed to trial. Lawyers for the A.C.L.U. said they had not decided whether to try an immediate appeal of the ruling.

The camp at the center of the suit is affiliated with similar ones in Florida and Arizona and has elaborate rules. Campers, who are ages 11 to 17, may wear clothes if it is chilly or if they become sunburned. Otherwise, nudity is strictly enforced.

"Sunburned shoulders may require a reasonable length T-shirt, perhaps to the waist, but certainly not extending to knees or ankles," the rules say. "Going about the property wearing a towel, except perhaps for the first few moments out of the water, is always inappropriate."

The camp says it does not tolerate lewd behavior.

"Intimate contact, suggestive behavior, overt sexuality or sexually provocative behavior" are prohibited, the rules say.

The camp is in Ivor, about an hour's drive southeast of here, and it is but one program of many at a 20-year-old nudist resort there known as White Tail Park, which calls itself "the Southeast's premier clothes-free resort." The resort sponsors an array of naked activities, including ice cream socials, karaoke nights, wagon rides and what its Web site described as a "black light party." Last month, the resort played host to a Christian nudist convocation.

The members of the families involved in the suit, from Norfolk and Hampton, Va., were identified in court papers only by their initials, and they did not respond to requests for interviews made through the A.C.L.U. The youngest plaintiffs include two girls, who are 10 and 12, and three boys, who are 11, 15 and 17.

The court hearing took place in what nudists like to call a textile environment. The lawyers and parties were clothed.

Gov. Mark R. Warner has had a little fun with the law. In a news release in April, he noted that it had been "the butt of many jokes." But he said he supported "the bottom line intent of the bill" with "naked admiration."

In a footnote in its legal papers, the A.C.L.U. objected to the governor's "giggling tone."
Tucker Martin, a spokesman for the state attorney general, Jerry W. Kilgore, said the law operated on the same theory as R-rated movies, which require a parent or guardian to accompany those under 17.

"Children can't even see nudity without a parent," Mr. Martin said. "We're just saying children cannot attend a nudist camp without a parent or guardian present. It's just common sense."

The camp in Ivor says it has had no untoward incidents. It subjects its counselors to criminal background checks; the property is surrounded by a security fence; and staff members patrol the perimeter.

Mr. Martin said that was not enough.

"Pedophiles are very attracted to nudist camps of the garden variety," he said. "Imagine how attracted they would be to nudist camps without parental supervision."