It doesn’t mention peeing in public specifically. But there is an article in this month’s Economist about how draconian sex offender laws ruin the lives of people who are not a risk to anyone (the example they use is a 17 year old girl who performed a sex act with a 16 year old, and has to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life).
Ooh, good cite, thanks! But it shows my basic point- get a lawyer!
Agreed.
I understand that, but it seems like a terrible stretch to do this. Just because a few people are getting away with something because of a loophole, that’s no reason to cast a wide net that will ensnare many innocent people to catch these few. Surely a jury can made a determination beyond a reasonable doubt whether a person was urinating (petty infraction) or trying to show his penis to a young child (felony)?
Three issues here:
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Is public nudity a crime? In many jurisdictions it is, despite qualifiers like “lewd.” In many places you can get busted for public nudity for exposing your stuff in public, even if you’re not doing it for a sexual reason. Just about every jurisdiction had to pass a special law to make clear that a woman may expose her breast to nurse a child. http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/Health/BreastfeedingLaws/tabid/14389/Default.aspx That’s how broad the statutes are.
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Is it a sex crime? As I pointed out above, many jurisdictions lump it in with indecent exposure or some other similar crime. So pee-ers get charged with the same crime as streakers and flashers.
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Is it the sort of sex crime that requires registration? Because it is technically a sex crime in most places, it depends on the registration statutes. These statutes are typically self-executing, so if the offense qualifies, the offender must register. As you’ve seen, some jurisdictions break the offense down in a way that makes it easy to exclude the minor stuff–others don’t. I suspect that this is, as others have said, because they suspect a lot of people who get convicted of indecent exposure have either obtained that conviction through a plea bargain or might try to falsely claim that they were only peeing, if they thought that would avoid the sex offender list.
Of course a lawyer says that. 
Out of curiosity, any idea when the staff report will be published? This thread has, excuse the term, aroused my interest.
Next couple of months. Maybe sooner. It’s ready, but we’ve got a bunch in the queue right now.
Once again, I think it’s important to take some time to thank Gfactor for again providing great information in GQ.
regardless of what Gfactor does for a living, his posts are informative and well done. I appreciate his contributions to the board, both as a poster and a moderator.
Absolutely!
In Indiana about 15 or 16 years ago, I came close to getting arrested for indecent exposure for watering a wall. I had walked to the local tavern to watch the NCAA basketball semifinals and, since the men’s room was full, I went outside to the alley and walked back to a wall that was left standing after the next-door building had burned down. Although it was obvious what I was doing, you could not see any gentalia. I also was not the first man to piss on that wall.
It was not a propitious moment for a whizz as the cops passed by. They let me off with a talking-to after I blew .03 on the breathalyzer.
I wonder if the wearing of those swimsuits used in South Florida would be judged obscene? From what i reall, bot womean and men were wearing almost nothing; could you be charged with a sex crime for sporting this attire?
I guess that this illustrates the point that I am trying to make. You committed a minor indiscretion there by urinating in a public place. An indiscretion so minor that the cops felt like letting you off with a warning. To turn what you did into an offense on par with child molestation is silly.
It seems like some states want to make what you did the equivalent of exposing yourself to a child since real pedophiles can simply say that they were only urinating. I find that appalling.
Los Angeles Times, July 13, 1990: Beach-Goers Are Divided: Are Thongs Right Thing?
GFactor, all of these cites are from the early 90s. Around the same time that the FL authorities were prosecuting 2 Live Crew for obscene lyrics on their albums. Also, these “hot dog vendors” caused a hell of a lot of accidents by flashing their various “assets” at passing motorists.
I’m not seeing the connection with the situation in the OP. Nudity/partial nudity on or near the beach doesn’t equal sexually assaulting children.
Was responding to ralph. And of course I agree that none of these things equals sexually assaulting children.
Aw shucks. Thanks.
Thirded!