Published Sunday, March 15, 2009

Nudes 'pretty decent guys and gals'

Opinion Column by JEFF BISHOP

jeff@newnan.com

Starting around April Fools Day, they'll be wearing orange vests and nothing else at all, picking up litter along Georgia's highways.

They are members of Georgia Nude, a nude rights organization that adopted a one-mile section along Georgia Highway 34 East in Coweta County under the Georgia Adopt-a-Highway program.

Georgia Nude's community service is part of a new campaign to let the public know they're just a group of "pretty decent guys and gals" who are continuing to champion for the right to fully express themselves.

"We're going to be picking up trash nude to show people that we're good guys like everyone else," said Jenny Henny, a Georgia Nude member and local nudist colony organizer.

The 2,000-member organization adopted the section of state Highway 34 from I-85 to Shenandoah Boulevard. The sign along the highway was erected last week. The one-year-old group plans to adopt more roadsides throughout the state for the recognition and to continue their advocacy of nude rights.

President Eli Sunshine of Sharpsburg confirmed the organization is currently pursuing other roads to adopt in other counties. Sunshine said most of them are concentrated in the Atlanta metro area, but they're actively working on an application in Savannah, too.

Sunshine and Georgia Nude were instrumental in passing Georgia's recent law that allows nudists to cavort in state parks, on public transportation, and in restaurants that serve alcohol, as long as the nudist does not drink.

In addition to performing community service and continuing their advocacy campaign, Sunshine explained the group is hoping to dispel any negative misperceptions about their group.

He said he realizes that many are afraid of people who wear no clothing. So the idea, sprung from a member's Web posting, is so "people can see how nice we are and that we're not kooks."

"We want people to realize that you can drive by somebody who's naked and they're not going to try to molest you. A lot of people are deathly afraid of nakedness and I understand that, but most people in the South are used to that," he said.

He added that Georgia Nude is a diverse group that includes men and women of all races who range in age from 18 to 75 years old.

"It's a real cross-section of America ... that share the interest of protecting our First Amendment rights," he said.

The state's Adopt-a-Highway program, a partnership between the Georgia Department of Transportation and Keep Georgia Beautiful, enlists citizen volunteers to help remove litter from state roadsides. Each volunteer group adopts at least a one-mile stretch of highway and agrees to remove litter from both sides of the road at least four times a year for a two-year period.

P.S. This Georgia Nude column was inspired by Georgia Carry, a gun rights organization that recently adopted a one-mile section along Georgia Highway 34 East. Georgia Carry plans to pack sidearms when they go on trash duty to prove that they aren't kooks, either.

"They absolutely have a right to bear arms, at all times, even while picking up trash on the side of the road," said Sunshine. "And so we figured, hey, we have a right to bare all. Let's do this thing. The human body is a beautiful thing. Why put it under a bushel? Let it shine, let it shine."