CPK said:
I thought that the Federal Government left all clothing laws to State and Local Governments and that those laws do not apply on Federal Property. That's not to say that the National Park Service can't stop nude sunbathing by rule, but it does allow it to happen. So is it really illegal to be nude at Lighthouse? Or is it just allowed by the National Park Service because of custom, subject to change at their will?
Correct. The Superintendent could decide to enforce the law tomorrow if he so choses (which is, by the way, why it's important not to allow lewd behavior because that might cause him to make that choice).
As to your first sentence, I'm having trouble parsing it, so I don't know what you mean. I really ought to write a "Naturist Law 101" FAQ one day because there's so much confusion on these points.
Simply put, being on a National Park doesn't make you subject to
less rules, but to
more.
If I'm on the street in NYC, I'm subject to:
- Federal Law
- New York State statutes
- New York City minicipal ordinances
If I'm in an unincorporated part of New York State, I'm subject to just the first two (plus possibly any county ordinances). If I'm in a National Park in New York State, I'm subject to those two (Federal + NY State law) plus any general regulations that apply to National Parks and any specific regulations to that park (whether county laws would apply in that situation is very unclear legally, but isn't relevant to Lighthouse Beach, though it might be at Playalinda in Florida).
In the Fire Island National Seashore (similar to a National Park) that contains Lighthouse Beach, an activity is illegal if it is prohibited by any of the following:
- Federal Law
- New York State law
- general National Park regulations
- regulations specific to FINS
In the case of nudity, the first of these and the last two are silent. There is a law in New York State, however, specifically
NY Penal Law Section 245.01, that prohibits nudity. Thefore, nudity is prohibited there.
To see the opposite situation, let's look at Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. There, we have the same four sources of law. Massachusetts doesn't have a clear law prohibiting nudity (Chapter 272, section 16 merely prohibits "open and gross lewdness or lscivious behavior"). However, there is a specific rule that applies to Cape Cod National Seashore, specifically 36 CFR 7.67(13)(e), which prohibits public nudity within that Seashore (see
this page for copies of all those laws and regulations). So nudity is also prohibited there, but for an entirely different reason.
