The
big news in May was the mysterious aftermath of a meeting held in the outskirts
of Los Angeles to protect against so-called smut literature, which to the
bigoted, includes even the best of our nudist magazines. An organization
calling itself the Citizens for Decent Literature sponsored the meeting where
various magazines were on display. Among these were some of our best known
nudist magazines, opened significantly at pages which showed some of the
controversial type of pictures that nudist leaders have deplored.
T. H. Latimer, ASA President, and other nudists were in the audience, but when Latimer introduced himself and attempted to speak he was booed and shouted down. Only one nudist was able to make himself heard. He was a member from Olive Dell who did not identify himself as a nudist. He asked repeatedly if anyone could read aloud “one single quotation from the nudist magazines that was obscene.” Spokesmen at the meeting admitted that they did not read our magazines, they “only look at the pictures!”
After the meeting a tale stranger than fiction began to unfold when friendly reporters spirited “T” Latimer away from the hall in a private car with a warning that the police were after him! Sure enough, the car was stopped after a few blocks by police who did not take him into custody, but warned him that he would be arrested if he showed a recent movie film of nude activities to a civic group where he was scheduled to make a speaking engagement. This warning was based on the fact that Los Angeles County years ago passed a law which prohibits a person of one sex appearing nude in the presence of two or more members of the opposite sex. The movie, produced by the noted nudist photographer and publisher Ed Lange, for ASA distribution to clubs to use for gatherings of interested prospective members, showed “T” Latimer and others in normal nudist activities. It was contended by police that a showing of this film in Los Angeles county would be a breach of this old law, even though the activities had taken place in another county.
After this warning “T” was permitted to go, but later he voluntarily went to police authorities to verify the warning he had been given. He had naturally hoped that higher authorities would admit that police had been over-zealous or in error, but he was told emphatically that “ASA President or not, you’re playing with fire, and if you’re picked up it will take $5,000 bail to get you out!”
Ray Connett
(Source:
Sun and Health, International
Edition, Volume 28, September 1964)
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