Wiener and the weenie-waggers

Photo Joseph Schell, SF Weekly

From Supervisor Wiener's October newsletter:

This month I introduced legislation to restrict public nudity to appropriate venues, like parades, street festivals, and beaches, while prohibiting the display of genitalia in other public places including city plazas, parklets, sidewalks, streets and public transit. This proposed ordinance came about as a result of a sharp increase in public nudity in the Castro, most notably in Jane Warner Plaza at Castro and Market. What was once an occasional sighting has turned into a near-daily nudist colony in what is essentially the Castro's town square. 

I hadn't planned on pursuing this ban, and I'd hoped this issue would resolve itself, but sentiment in the community, from gay and straight residents, small business owners, and others, has turned against this obnoxious behavior. The goal of this legislation is not to punish people, but to get them to put their clothes back on while in our neighborhoods so that everyone can enjoy our public space.

In other words, after a lot of negative feedback from his constituents, Wiener belatedly recognizes that this behavior is "obnoxious" and that the problem didn't "resolve itself." It was just as obnoxious last year, when he proposed his half-assed, so to speak, legislation that failed to deal with the problem.

That, and his attempt to restrict initiative rights, is why I gave Wiener my "Worst Legislator of the Year" award last year.