Authorities prevent political rally at naturist retreat

TOPEKA, Kansas - July 7, 2006 - Armed Shawnee County sheriff's deputies turned out in force yesterday to prevent members of the Kansas Libertarian Party from holding a fund raiser on the grounds of Lake Edun, a site outside of Topeka. The nonprofit Lake Edun Foundation is affiliated with The Naturist Society and leases the privately-owned grounds for its naturist activities.

A handful of the rural neighbors of Lake Edun have been opposed for years to the idea that someone might be nude and enjoying it while the same county in which they live. The county zoning commission had obtained a court order prohibiting "commercial or recreational use" of the land. In blocking the Libertarians from holding their political function at Lake Edun, the deputies claimed they were simply enforcing the court order.

Is political speech the same as "commercial or recreational use"?

The Naturist Action Committee has been working closely with the Lake Edun Foundation and property owners Webb and Julie Garlinghouse. For a detailed insider's look at the situation, subscribe to The Newsletter, the monthly publication of the Naturist Action Committee, the Naturist Education Foundation and The Naturist Society.