Image by the inimitable malecution.
On the 3rd I posted about the Naked Pumpkin Run that happens in a few US cities; one reader commented and left a link to this post: Boulder Naked Pumpkin Runners = Sex Offenders? COME ON! that has had me agog at the outrageous abuse (and thus, ineffectiveness) of the application of sex offender laws. That’s right: the good city of Boulder, Colorado might prosecute the gourd-headed streakers as sex offenders. Read the post (and watch the video of the busts) and it gets worse:
It’s not sexual, violent, dangerous, or threatening. It’s just silly. It’s unique. It’s fun. It’s exuberant. It’s positive and life-affirming.
And: It’s illegal.
Unlike in previous years, the Boulder police were out in force for this event, where they ticketed several runners for indecent exposure. Consequently, several fun-loving local folks may end up suffering life-altering public stigma as registered sex offenders.
No kidding.
The Colorado Daily posted this video of the event, including some footage of the busts Need some irony? All this happened less than 24 hours after two remarkably violent assaults, which occurred just a half-mile from the scene of the Naked Pumpkin Run busts. Here are the details, as best as I’ve been able to gather them so far…
This was my first time at the Naked Pumpkin Run. (I was just watching, not running.) Attendees from prior years told me that so far the Boulder cops had always refrained from doing anything more than crowd management at this event. But this year, I witnessed somewhere around 12-15 cops detaining and ticketing runners. (It was pretty dark and mobbed, with folks moving around, so I couldn’t get an exact count. But I’m confident with that ballpark figure.)
Yesterday our local paper confirmed that “12 runners were cited for indecent exposure.” I expect that on Monday the Boulder police blotter may offer more info (although the online version of this blotter is generally a summary of incidents, not details or names).
EXTREME LEGAL CONSEQUENCES
These citations could be much more than just a bummer to the folks involved. Under Colorado state law (18-7-302) indecent exposure is a class 1 misdemeanor. But: If these citations are upheld by a judge, the people involved probably would be required to register with the Colorado sex offender registry. (…read more, contentious.com, thanks bd)
This morning it looks like the story is gaining momentum: Praemedia sends me this quick post from Reason Magazine, appropriately titled, Streakers, Child Molesters, Whatever. I’ve been researching this issue for a while, the misapplication of sex offender laws. It’s a fucked up situation. The hundreds of Bay to Breakers streakers? Sex offenders, all of ya could be. Depending on the state — pee in public, skinny dip, streak, or OMG have sex (or live in a city where homophobic police officers work out their issues on the job, with similar judges) and you could end up on a sex offender registry. No really: I’ve been reading state laws, talking with lawyers about it (for almost a year now).
What’s also seriously problematic is strong likelihood of the so-called “sex offenders” of the Pumpkin Run ending up on those extremely questionable and self-disclaimed-as-inaccurate “people finder” services and registry indexes online, the kind where people pay $40 to get personal information. And they will. The information is almost always wrong — trust me, I saw results about myself from every one of those sites during my lawsuit, and much of the “information” about my name, residences, background, family and employment was wrong. One said I had a criminal record which was news to me. Read the fine print and they get their info from places ranging from public records (whatever that means to the service) to — magazine subscription information and credit solicitations.
Anyway, this is a REAL mess.
Update:
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/18/naked-pumpkin-runner-takes-plea-deal/
Sex offenders are generally repeat offenders, so the draconian measures exist. However public nudity / indecent exposure probably does about the same harm to kids playing GTA games (they still ask me for my ID, so this is only because parents buy the bad-behavior games for them I suppose?), so therein lies the problem. In Virginia, there was reports of people arrested for same-sex intercourse (even under police entrapment!), which is a gross violation of state rights due to the Supreme court rulings against anti-sodomy laws. (Generally speaking: states can do anything unless the constitution or previous Supreme Court orders prevent them from doing so. If the supreme court had the time or if the appeals court let him get to the supreme court, or if they didn’t prevent him from seeking political exile, then it wouldn’t matter. But much like the patriot act, nothing will happen if you can’t get political exile or appeals court ruling) We live in a world were you basically need a lawyer to be 100% legal, and even then you can get screwed. All I can suggest is to know your rights, and do it outside state borders (which makes the abortion issue pointless until it goes to the fed).
Glad to hear that an article is on the way … it definitely sounds like a tough topic to tackle but an important one to spread the word about more!
Thanks for following up on this and highlighting it. Obviously, I find this outrageous.
The article sounds fab. To add fuel to the fire some local jurisdictions (counties, cities) have laws requiring sex offenders live in certain places (like no closer to schools than xx feet and so on). It becomes really difficult for these people to find residences. Often times the registered offender moves and when s/he does it sometimes behooves the offender not to register in the new community for fear of finding the same situation. One person in Snohomish County, Washington (where I live) could only find shelter under a bridge and the police approved of the location. Now, I’m no fan of sex offenders, but these Draconian measures are not going to provide any source of resolution. The idea of police, judges, and legislators expanding the scope of who qualifies as a sex offender (streakers?!!?) appalls me even further.
Don’t these people have enough on their hands locking up marijuana smokers?
yes, the plan is an article; the challenge is that each state’s laws are different and difficult to find, and states have differing levels/categories of sex offenders and registration. I often wish I had more than a short weekly column and could do these more in-depth features. but it’s on my short list and I’m getting close to a solid piece with a lot of horror stories / examples and commentary from legal professionals.
Yeah, I want to know the same thing as Kathryn…and what we can do about it. Time for a community protest, methinks.
Scary stuff … would love to know more information on the different laws / application of laws that you’ve researched in various states. Are you planning to put together a comprehensive article about that at all?