Wisconsin anti-nudity bills: A comprehensive action guide
Legislative bills SB477 and SB478: What they mean for naturists, civil liberties, and how to take immediate action
November 28, 2023—Updated to reflect the acceptance of SB 477 and 478 by the Senate Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children and Families.
November 16, 2023—Updated to reflect the acceptance of AB 504 and 503 by the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
October 19th, 2023—Updated to include information about the bills’ introduction to the state assembly.
Recent legislative and administrative developments in Wisconsin have escalated efforts to restrict events like the World Naked Bike Ride, criminalize public nudity broadly, and even make parents criminally liable for bringing their children to events where adults may expose their intimate parts. These efforts are being considered in both chambers of the state legislature. In the upper house, Senate Bills 477 and 478 has been passed by the Senate Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children and Families Committee and are likely to move to the Senate floor when the floor sessions resume in mid January 2024. In the lower house, Assembly Bills 504 and 503 have also been accepted by the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety and are likely to move to the Assembly floor. Support or opposition for these bills has been strictly party-line, with Republicans favoring and Democrats opposing. With a strong Republican majority in both houses of the legislature, the bills are expected to pass. At that point, Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, will have the final opportunity to veto the bills. He has not yet signaled what he might do.
Though these bills are specific to Wisconsin, they carry far-reaching implications that require immediate, vigilant attention from naturists, activists, and organizations advocating for body freedom. Planet Nude is not only tracking this unfolding situation but also updating our comprehensive set of resources to empower our readers to take effective action. Consider this post your comprehensive action guide.
Table of contents
Preparedness for committee meetings
Upcoming dates and how to act
Who to contact
Letter templates
Spread the word: #KeepBodiesFree
Why your voice matters now more than ever
1. Preparedness for committee meetings
If you're planning to attend the public hearings, whether to speak or just listen, preparation is key. Familiarize yourself with the key points of the bills, and if speaking, practice your speech in advance. Bring printed materials—including the following articles—to distribute if possible.
Assembly Bill 504 / Senate Bill 477
(click the bill names above to see bill text)
Assembly Bill 504 aims to prohibit persons under 18 from attending events “at which a group of adult participants intentionally expose their genitals, buttocks, or other intimate parts in a public area.” The bill also restricts the photography of minors at such events unless the photo is intended for law enforcement reporting within 24 hours.
Assembly Bill 503 / Senate Bill 478
(click the bill names above to see bill text)
Similarly, Assembly Bill 503 seeks to amend the statutes around intentional exposure of genitals, moving away from the current requirement that such exposure be "indecent."
For both bills, violators could face a Class A misdemeanor charge.
Wisconsin's anti-nude legislation recap:
Catch up on the events leading up to this legislation and details regarding the bills themselves by reading our previous reports. Additionally, we summarize the potential legal repercussions, which further underline the seriousness of these bills.
Double standards in dairyland
A comprehensive report that not only explores the sequence of events leading up to the newly introduced bills—SB477 and SB478—but also features an exclusive interview with the mother of the child at the center of the World Naked Bike Ride controversy.
Wisconsin nudity ban: DNR throws a curveball
Updates on the legal threats around nudity involving the state's Department of Natural Resources and their efforts to end nude swimming at Mazo Beach, and how these rules may work in tandem with the current legislative attempts to impose criminal penalties for public nudity.
2. Upcoming dates and how to act:
For locals in Wisconsin interested in engaging with the legislative process, we urge you to coordinate your communication through the Naturist Action Committee. Contact them at nac@naturistaction.org, or call 920-415-2900 for key messaging and helpful information on how to most effectively express opposition to this legislation. For more information, refer to their latest NAC alert:
Agendas for public hearings are often announced with just 24 hours notice. All future dates of importance are TBA.
Please consider tracking the progress of these bills yourself. Each committee has a public calendar you find here. You can also sign up for notifications when any of the above bills is listed. It's advisable to track both the Assembly and Senate bills, numbered AB 503, AB 504, SB 477, and SB 478 respectively.
You can also bookmark this page, as we will try to keep this space updated at all times.
Immediate action points
Plan to attend future public hearings and register testimony. Help organize others to join you.
Keep an eye on committee hearings RIGHT HERE. Sign up for notifications RIGHT HERE.
Contact NAC and coordinate an action plan. Plan your messaging points/testimony in advance.
Reach out to more bill authors and sponsors in the Wisconsin legislature.
Inform local naturist groups and organizations—many of which may not be up-to-date on current events—of what’s happening and the importance of their involvement in the upcoming public hearings.
Important note
The temptation to engage in nude demonstrations may be compelling for their attention-grabbing potential, but it's not advisable at this time. It's important to engage earnestly in the process and show respect for the committee and its protocols. Events like the World Naked Bike Ride have their appropriate contexts, and misusing such demonstrations could jeopardize our immediate goal of defeating these bills. Should the legislation persist, the strategic use of nudity to attract media attention may become more advisable in the future. Consider it a tool to keep in your toolkit.
3. Who to contact
Phone calls are the most effective way to reach your representatives; they are harder to ignore than emails or letters. If you're a constituent in their district, that's even better. Residency shouldn't deter you; feel free to call or email. Be transparent about your concerns and explain how this legislation would impact you, such as discouraging you from visiting Wisconsin. Once more, we urge you to coordinate your communication through the Naturist Action Committee.
Contact information for each committee can be found on the following links
4. Letter templates
Unsure what to say in your phone call or email? Here are two letter templates to inform your talking points, catering to both Wisconsin residents and concerned Americans.
For Wisconsin residents:
Senate letter
Assembly letter
For non-residents:
Senate letter
Assembly letter
5. Spread the word: #KeepBodiesFree
In addition to contacting your representatives and engaging with key organizations, social media offers another powerful avenue for impact. We are introducing the hashtag #KeepBodiesFree to help unify voices against these restrictive bills.
We encourage you to use this hashtag in your social media posts to raise awareness about the issues at hand. Visibility can lead to greater awareness, which in turn can influence lawmakers.
A social media image aligned with the #KeepBodiesFree campaign is available for download. By incorporating this image into your social media, you contribute to a unified visual presence for the cause.
Download and use the #KeepBodiesFree social media image
Feel free to use this image as your profile picture, share it in posts, or integrate it into your own creative content to help spread the word.
Why your voice matters now more than ever
Given the upcoming paper ballot and public hearings, now is a critical time to engage. These bills are not just an attack on the nudist community; they are an affront to civil liberties, freedom of expression, and our collective understanding of what defines a fair and just society.
Your active participation can make a difference. Stand against the erosion of our freedoms and make your voice heard. 🪐
This is an important test for the naturist/nudist community to voice and show our power. Believe me when I say that legislators talk to each other even across state lines. So the more who write authentic letters, they will know people are watching and care. This notice is well designed for the novice and the experienced person to understand the issue and respond appropriately. It's been too long since we had to do this and we will see similar bills pop-up around the country, so stay tuned and be prepared to exercise your power.
Thank you for this wealth of information. As someone from outside the US, it seems that there is little that we can do. The only thing I can think of is to contact those people that you have listed and explain that as long as SB477 and SB478 are in place, I will never visit Wisconsin, they will get none of my tourist dollars, and I will never knowingly buy anything online that comes from Wisconsin.
Money seems to be a big motivator for US politicians, and while the small spend of one man in the South Pacific may not strike fear into them, imagine if 100 nudists all voted with their wallets. Or maybe 1,000, or perhaps 10,000?