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Va. governor amends teen nude camp bill

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ? Gov. Mark R. Warner liked a bill that cracks down on summer camps for nude juveniles so much that he offered only a clarifying amendment to it Thursday, then announced what he'd done without sparing a pun.

"I support the bottom line intent of this bill," the Democratic governor wrote in a brief, tongue-in-cheek commentary full of double entendre. Midnight was his deadline to veto, sign or amend legislation passed during the 2004 regular General Assembly session.

"This bill has been the butt of many jokes, so with naked admiration for its patron, I am offering this amendment," his missive concluded.

The patron, Del. John S. "Jack" Reid, introduced the bill after a weeklong summer camp was held last June for nude children ages 11 to 18 at Southampton County's White Tail Park nudist community. It was the first such camp in Virginia and only the third in the nation.

"Stripped to its bare essence," as Warner wrote, the bill bars the state Department of Health from licensing any hotel, summer camp or campground that holds activities for nude minors whose parents or guardians are not "registered for or otherwise accompanying the juvenile."

Warner's amendment, offered at Reid's request to make its intent "more transparent," requires that "for a camp to obtain a license, a parent, grandparent or legal guardian must actually be revealed at the camp, not simply register."

Lawmakers will reconvene on Wednesday to consider whether to accept or reject Warner's amendments and override any vetoes.

White Tail's owner and manager, Bob Roche, found no humor in Warner's wordsmithing and said the amendment would hurt his business.

"It's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen a governor do," Roche said in a telephone interview from White Tail, home to 35 families year-round and 140 part-time.

He said Warner's amendment is unconstitutional and he intends to sue to overturn it. Roche said White Tail is holding another au naturel camp for youths in July, but he had not yet determined whether parental presence will be compulsory.

Posted by thinkum at April 20, 2004 04:37 PM