Bills targeting Madison’s Naked Bike Ride could have broad reach

Wisconsin could have stricter laws against public indecency if two Republican bills that received a hearing Thursday become law.

The bills stem from concerns about a child’s participation in Madison’s World Naked Bike Ride earlier this year.

Dane County Supervisor Jeff Weigand testified he received a complaint and a photo from a citizen that showed a child who was naked at the ride and surrounded by naked adults. The child was wearing only a helmet and shoes and her buttocks were exposed in the photo, he said.

Weigand said he filed a complaint with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and the Madison Police Department, neither of which have found that any laws were violated. The Dane County District Attorney determined the photo of the child was not sexual in nature.

“Sadly, because the city and county law enforcement officers refuse to do their job, we are here today, and I appreciate this attempt to be explicitly clear that this type of lewd behavior should not be allowed to take place in Wisconsin,” Weigand said.

The World Naked Bike Ride is billed as a protest against fossil fuels and a celebration of body positivity. The event, which takes place in cities all over the world, has been held in Madison since 2010.

Madison police issued 10 citations the first time the event was held. The following year, the city council determined public nudity was a legitimate form of protest and should no longer be included in the city’s public indecency ordinance.

Last month, Republican U.S. Rep Tom Tiffany unexpectedly raised the controversy about the Madison bike ride in a Congressional hearing with Attorney General Merrick Garland. Tiffany said he sent Garland a letter asking if he saw a problem with the child being naked in public and photographed, but had not received a response after two months.

Garland said it sounded like a question of state and local law enforcement.

“State and local law enforcement would not act,” Tiffany responded. “We were hoping you would. It’s obvious you are not.”

Law could extend beyond Naked Bike Ride

The proposed laws could have a much broader reach than the bike rides.

One would prohibit adults from bringing a child to any event where a group of adults “intentionally expose their genitals, buttocks, or other intimate parts in a public area.” The other bill would amend state laws against indecent exposure to simply ban all intentional displays of public nudity.

Violations of either proposed law would be a class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of up to a $10,000 fine, 9 months in jail, or both.

Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, expressed concern that concert venues in her district could be impacted.

“It seems to me that for some concerts, for example, a Beyonce concert, the buttocks are exposed sometimes,” Johnson said. “Would that prohibit parents from taking their kids to a concert or children under the age of 18 from attending concerts where buttocks may be exposed?”

Johnson questioned whether stricter indecency laws would result in a loss of revenue should touring acts decide to avoid Wisconsin.

Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, who introduced both bills, responded that large concerts bring in tens of millions of dollars.

“A strip of cloth from Joann’s fabric costs about 37 cents. So if they’ve gotta buy a hundred strips of cloth to cover their butt crack, I’m OK with that,” he said.

Weigand said he no longer brings his family to downtown Madison for fear of what his children may see on the street.

“Proponents of this bike ride have stated that they believe this is about their freedom to protest,” he said. “I would ask them, what about my freedom? What about my freedom to walk around, walk down a street and not be assaulted by nudity? What about my children’s innocence that I work very hard to protect?”