Nudist Camps for Teens? Va. Senate to Debate Ban

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Nudist camps for teens would be prohibited under a provision passed by a Virginia Senate panel Thursday despite the vehement protests of the nudist community.

The legislation, which nudists claim is unique nationwide, passed the Senate Education and Health Committee unanimously after opponents said it infringed on the rights of parents. The bill now heads to the Senate floor for debate.

Del. John Reid, R-Henrico, said his legislation was aimed at shutting down a weeklong camp for teenagers at White Tail Park, a nudist colony in Southampton County. It was only the third such au naturel camp for juveniles in the nation, according to the American Association of Nude Recreation.

Reid's bill would prohibit the state from licensing any hotel, summer camp or campground that allows nudist camps for juveniles without the supervision of their parents, grandparents or legal guardians.

"This bill is not based on aspersions at all," Reid said. "It allows individuals committed to this lifestyle to continue to have this lifestyle."

But nudists testified otherwise.

Erich Schuttauf, executive director of the Florida-based American Association of Nude Recreation, said the bill would prevent teenagers from attending camps that are similar to conventional summer camps in every other respect.

"There is nothing forming the basis for this statute other than we're uncomfortable that (nudism) exists," Schuttauf said.

Schuttauf said there are 260 nudist parks in the United States and Canada, but only three states - Virginia, Florida and Arizona - where teenagers can attend summer camps without their parents.

Robert Roach, owner of White Tail Park, said the camp's ban on sexual or lascivious conduct is enforced by a ratio of two counselors for every child. Roach said the children, ages 12 to 18, sleep in single-sex tents, which Republican Sen. William Bolling called "encouraging."

"We've had kids live there since day one," Roach said. "If we haven't had any problems, why legislate a bill?"

Schuttauf said nudist camps operate under a unique form of parental trust and that children are instilled with a strict set of morals. He said the bill impedes the rights of parents to determine how to raise their children.

"No state legislature in all 50 states has ever weighed in with a law on this," he said.

Sen. Frederick Quayle, R-Chesapeake, attempted to amend the bill to allow the owner of the nudist camp to be designated in loco parentis, or a substitute for a parent, but the committee rejected it.

The measure passed the House of Delegates 98-1 earlier this month.

The bill is HB158.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)