Voters in Switzerland Ban Nude Hiking
APPENZELL, Switzerland — Voters in the heart of the Swiss Alps on Sunday passed legislation banning nude hiking after dozens of mostly German nudists started rambling through their picturesque region.
By a show of hands citizens of the tiny state of Appenzell Inner Rhodes voted overwhelmingly at their traditional open-air annual assembly to impose a $176 fine on violators.
Only a scattering of people on Sunday opposed the ban on the back-to-nature activity that took off last autumn when naked hikers — primarily Germans — started showing up in eastern Switzerland.
I suppose this is a great setback for nude hiking rights activists everywhere.
But then, one could also ask: if you love hiking nude so much, why don't you do it in your own home town, rather than flashing your body parts to complete strangers like some exhibitionists? After all, obscenity should be defined locally, and you are free to repeal such bans (if any exist) in your own home town.