A federal judge in Richmond yesterday ruled that teens cannot attend a planned nudist camp in southeastern Virginia next week unless their parents or guardians are present.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Williams ruled that White Tail Park in Ivor cannot operate the weeklong summer camp in defiance of a new state law that forbids teens from attending such a camp unless a parent, grandparent or legal guardian also is present.
The ruling comes after the camp teamed up with the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia to sue the state, saying the new law discriminates against the teens and parents who want to live a “naturalist” lifestyle.
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The ACLU had asked the judge to impose a preliminary injunction so teens and preteens could attend the camp without their parents or guardians.
Judge Williams said the ACLU hadn’t proved there would be irreparable harm to the plaintiffs, which included three families who wanted to send their children to the camp.
The judge also said the presence of parents or guardians at the camp would not interfere with the children’s ability to enjoy themselves.
A trial challenging the law will move forward, however.
Rebecca Glenberg, legal director for the Richmond-based ACLU of Virginia, said yesterday that the families will not talk to reporters about why they want to send their children to the nudist camp.
“They are really just trying to keep their privacy,” she said.
Camp officials speculate the camp will begin July 24 unless few teens attend.
“We’re very disappointed,” Miss Glenberg said. “There are kids who won’t be able to attend camp because they have no one available to register and be there with them.”
Camp manager Bob Roche could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Earlier this year, the General Assembly overwhelmingly passed the law, which went into effect July 1. The law was written to target White Tail Park, which runs an annual nudist camp for nearly 50 teens and preteens.
The ACLU noted in court papers that the camp’s rules prohibit “intimate contact, suggestive behavior, overt sexuality or sexually provocative behavior.”
Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for state Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore, told the Associated Press that such camps could attract pedophiles and child pornographers and that it was in the state’s interest to protect the children who attend.
The conservative Family Foundation of Virginia also applauded the judge’s decision to “protect children.”
“Anyone who denies that these camps are playgrounds for child exploitation is fooling [themselves],” said Victoria Cobb, director of legislative affairs for the Richmond-based group. “If it isn’t a compelling state interest to protect children from exploitation, I don’t know what is.”
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