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Admin
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 Posted - 09/04/2003 : 11:49:23 AM
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*** PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THIS WIDELY TO ALL MEDIA CONTACTS ***
London Protest 'Free Steve Gough' - the UK's 'Naked Rambler'
You may have heard about Steve Gough the 'Naked Rambler', who has been hiking nude from Lands End to John O'Groats since June 16th. A range of media reports appears here http://nakedrambler.com
Despite being arrested several times en-route in England and Wales, our police have not detained him more than a few hours and many charges have been dropped due to 'lack of evidence' - no one's complained!
However, Steve is now in prison in Inverness - on remand until Oct 3rd! He's already been detained once for seven days. Now he's been locked up since last Thursday Aug 28th!
Why? What 'crime' has he committed? None!
The Scottish police and Sherrif's courts are simply fed up with him being arrested and appearing repeatedly on charges of 'Breach of the Peace'! Despite the fact that that is NOT a 'crime' which carries a prison sentence!
Because Steve is refusing to wear clothes in prison - he is protesting against the ABUSE of his Human Rights - he is being kept in isolation in the Segregation Unit. This means that he has no access to visitors, telephone, exercise, etc. Just four walls and a bed - after walking over 700 miles to almost universal praise from people around the world. Nudity - our natural state - of course, is NOT a 'criminal offence' nor an affront to most people and yet his liberty is being denied.
Inspired by the nude photoshoot in Selfridges where 600 people got naked for Spencer Tunick and 'art', the Freedom to be Yourself campaign group is planning a 'Naked Celebration' in support of Steve to bring to the public's attention the injustice of imprisoning someone in the United Kingdom for their beliefs.
It is hoped upwards of 100 people from all across the country, will get naked inside SELFRIDGES on Saturday 6th Sept at PRECISELY 2:28pm. They will then walk out of the store, onto Oxford Street and make their way, to a nearby rallying point where after a photo opportunity and interviews with the media will dress and disperse.
Just in case you think I'm kidding read the Southampton Echo here:
http://www.thisishampshire.net/hampshire/southampton/news/SOTON_NEWS_
NEWS7.html (the full text appears appended below; please bear in mind, their link expires after a period but you should find the article and more if you do a search on their website - they've been following Steve from the start!)
People who took part in the Selfridges and Saatchi gallery 'art' events found them a deeply moving experience - it is hope similar numbers will be motivated to put themselves in touch with their humanity and help to stop the persecution and suffering Steve is enduring!
It will also SHOW to this Government - a government that wants to 'outlaw' public 'non-sexual' nudity under Clause 68 'Exposure' of the proposed 'Sexual Offences Bill' - that people don't have a problem with nudity, and don't need this Government criminalising our bodies! The UK is not as 'free' as we'd like to think it is, and with this Government were losing more freedoms all the time!
Many who have commented in the media (for a BBC News article and readers comments see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3130817.stm), that Steve should be left alone and allowed to get on with his walk.
Please do NOT tell the police! It is likely they already know and UNLIKELY they will take any action to stop this peaceful walk.
By law police *MUST* give a warning to get dressed - to "stop your disorderly conduct" - BEFORE anyone can be arrested under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, for "behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress".
'Breach of the Peace' cannot be used in cases of simple nudity; there must be a threat of violence to people or property. The letter (see http://geocities.com/stopsegregation/breachofpeacefrom) f
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Admin
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Posted - 12/10/2003 : 11:53:50 PM
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From the Scotsman.com website:
Naked Rambler Due Back in Court
By Jude Sheerin, Scottish Press Association
A man attempting to walk naked from Land’s End to John o’Groats is due back in court today following his re-arrest hours after being released from jail.
Stephen Gough, who is known as the Naked Rambler, emerged from Inverness prison on Friday night but was picked up again by police on Saturday morning.
He was held at Dingwall police station over the weekend and is due to appear at the town’s sheriff court today.
The 44-year-old was sentenced on Friday to three months in prison at Inverness Sheriff Court after being found guilty of breach of the peace.
But Gough, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, was released because he had been held in custody since October 6.
The nudist set off from the Cromarty Bridge, the point where he was last arrested, and continued his walk north, braving rain, wind and low temperatures.
After four miles he was spotted walking in nothing but a pair of walking boots, socks and a rucksack in a Scottish Highlands village.
Police arrested Gough at 10am on Drummond Road in Evanton, Easter Ross, following a complaint from a shocked resident.
On Friday, Gough was convicted of being naked in public in circumstances likely to cause a road safety hazard on Cromarty Bridge, Ardullie, in Ross-shire, in the Scottish Highlands on October 3.
During a trial at Dingwall Sheriff Court last month, Sheriff Alexander Pollock also convicted Gough of breaching bail from courts in Inverness and Perth.
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Corasol
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Posted - 12/11/2003 : 05:35:52 AM
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Honestly, I don't see his point , walking or hiking naked....
If he realy wants to be naked, why does he wear hat, boots and sox...
Even thought there's nothing wrong being naked but each thing has it's place...
Maybe he should join the Sadus in India....
peace
Corasol
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NUDKIWI
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Posted - 12/11/2003 : 4:04:16 PM
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Yes everything does have its place,and what better place to be nude than walking in the fresh air.Boots and a hat are there maybe for protection against the environment,being a nudist dosent make you a masochist.
What we should be questioning here is the actions of the authorities for imprisoning a man for doing nothing more than walking naked.As a matter of interest i recently read on another site that the actions of the Scottish Police are under investigation for going against Human Rights of Steve Gough.The truth is if the authorities just left him to it there would probably be little or no publicity,because most people just dont care,most people are not offended,just maybe amused,maybe this is his point.
Naturally KIWI
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Admin
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Posted - 02/26/2004 : 11:45:17 AM
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From the dailyrecord.co.uk - Jan 23 2004
Starkers Raving Mad
Wife's blast as naked Stephen finishes ramble
Exclusive By Maggie Morgan
NAKED Rambler Steve Gough completed his 1000-mile walk from Land's End to John O'Groats yesterday. On the way, he has picked up six court appearances in Scotland 15 in all and jail time for offending public decency, but he insists it is his right to strip off anywhere.
Last night, his estranged partner told the 6 ft 4 in crank to take a hike if he thinks he has earned a warm reception at her home.
As Stephen celebrated by cracking open the bubbly, humiliated Alison Ward warned him: "Put your clothes back on or you will never see your kids again."
In his quest to walk the length of Britain in the nude, the 44-year-old former Royal Marine has left three silent victims- his partner and two young children.
Alison, 39, the mother of Gough's seven year-old daughter and six-year-old son, said: "It is an achievement for him to have walked the length of the country but the cost to him is much greater.
"He has deserted his children and left behind emotional wreckage which has been devastating. And all this simply because he refuses to compromise his belief in the right to go naked wherever he wants.
"He has also lost all contact with our son and daughter. I cannot think of any reasonable explanation for a man to simply stop seeing his children.
"He has not tried to phone us and I have no idea when he will make contact again.
"When we decided to have a family, the deal was that he would be committed to us for the future. He has not stuck to this deal."
Gough, who has landed in trouble with almost every authority the length of Britain, was released from prison just a week ago after spending nearly five months behind bars.
He still has outstanding cases at courts in Inverness, Perth and Dunns in Berwickshire.
He showed a stubborn character in finishing his nudey odyssey in near-freezing temperatures. Alison, who lives in Eastleigh, Hampshire, admits she was attracted to his single-mindedness when they met in 1992. But it finally drove them apart after weird and worrying incidents.
Alison said: "He could be stubborn but he wanted to change society for the better and I admired him for that."
When the couple's daughter was born in 1996 followed by a son in 1997, Gough proved himself to be a good father.
Until, that is, summer 1999 when the family drove to a beach near Christchurch, Dorset, for a day out.
Alison recalled: "As we were getting ready for a swim, without saying anything Steve suddenly took all his clothes off and marched down the beach into the water completely starkers.
"I called after him, panic-stricken that it wasn't a nudist beach but he wasn't listening. The beach was packed with families and kids. They were all staring. I was mortified.
"A man nearby yelled, 'Pervert' at him but Steve wasn't put off in the slightest.
"He went for his swim and returned with a triumphant look on his face. I was fuming and hissed at him that I could not believe he had done that."
Gough's reaction stunned Alison. "He announced that we are all born naked and we shouldn't be ashamed. He said he was a free man."
"Steve refused to promise that he would never strip off in public again but he agreed to at least give me fair warning. I wanted to make sure the kids and I weren't with him."
The subject did not rear its head again until the summer of 2002. By this time, they had moved to Vancouver in Canada, seeking a change of life.
Alison said: "Soon, Steve, was going naked swimming all the time, even at roadside lakes."
When Alison's parents came to visit, things got even worse.
On the second day of
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Admin
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Posted - 02/26/2004 : 1:03:21 PM
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From the BBC NEWS World Edition - Monday, 26 January, 2004
Naked rambler to fight on
The so-called naked rambler has hailed his nude hike across Britain as a success and promised to continue his crusade.
Stephen Gough, 44, was fully clothed on Monday and travelling back to his Hampshire home.
Mr Gough has developed his opinions
since leaving the Marines
He told BBC News Online his 900 mile trek from Land's End to John O'Groats - in protest against society's attitude towards the human body - had put him in touch with similar interest groups.
"The campaign continues," he said. "I will also be doing stuff with other people and I'm involved in various things highlighting the ridiculousness of it all."
The father-of-two admitted his seven-month walk had not always gone to plan but believed he had achieved many of his original aims.
"I'd always wanted to do the walk and I had the idea that people would join me. That didn't happen and I got arrested all the time which put people off," he said.
"I don't think anyone was damaged by what I've done and hopefully I've opened people's minds to the fact that a person can be naked in this country and not cause problems."
Despite two court appearances still hanging over him, following arrests in Inverness and Southampton, Mr Gough said his journey had been worth it.
He said: "I expected to be arrested and I'm not really bothered about having a criminal record because I know what it's for.
"I don't feel ashamed - I am proud of what I've done, good people are put in prison, just look at Gandhi."
The former Royal Marine plotted the route in advance, trying to avoid heavily populated areas wherever possible.
But he found himself forced into towns and cities including Edinburgh, Brixton, in London, and Newquay, in Cornwall, to cross strategic bridges.
"I was surprised at how relaxed people were towards me," he said. "When they come across a naked man they can see me for what I am and that I am being quite normal and open, not assertive.
"One guy was out looking for me for two days and when he finally caught up with me he had homemade soup and cake."
"We are all unique. If we haven't got the
freedom to be who we are it is damaging
to us and to society" -Stephen Gough
Mr Gough prepared his body to experience extremes of temperature by getting a sun tan before he set off in June. Once the colder nights set in he simply sped up.
"As long as I kept going I was OK, and I walked fast mainly to keep warm. I didn't have problems with the cold, if I did I stopped and sheltered," he said.
"I did get blisters quite a lot early on and they became infected so I had to clean them every night," he said.
His own funds for the campaign ran out but he was helped by supporters from across the country who sent donations during his many spells in prison.
Mr Gough said apart from more recognition in his home town he does not expect his life to change and plans to join a naturist group's naked march in London this summer.
"We are all unique. If we haven't got the freedom to be who we are it is damaging to us and to society," he said.
"Throughout the ages people have been fighting for freedom I am just doing the same."
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Kimberly
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Posted - 02/27/2004 : 05:33:00 AM
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Thanks for posting the articles Admin, I enjoyed reading them.
Kim =^.^=
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chic
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Posted - 02/28/2004 : 12:37:07 AM
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Mr Gough surely is a special kind of a guy. Thanks for sharing the details of his adventure.
Chic
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go n nude
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Posted - 03/31/2007 : 12:44:01 PM
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Brave indeed, but his lack of respect for the courts by showing up for, and refusing to wear clothes there would not be tolerated he found. Almost all other charges were dropped numerous times when showed RESPECT for them . Go nude but respect other peoples rights too!
go n nude
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CMx2
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Posted - 04/01/2007 : 04:59:02 AM
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I don't think this guy belongs in prison.
Maybe a mental health facility would be appropriate. He's clearly not right in the head.
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go n nude
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Posted - 11/02/2007 : 5:17:47 PM
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CMx2, Many think that way about our lifestyle, they believe we must be odd or worse. Mr. Gough set out on his cross country journey to prove his point, that going nude was not some terrible crime and he found most people were tolerant and supportive of his effort. He mentioned while living in Canada his children and others played at a park and they'd go nude which everyone accepted and no one objected to. This he felt was great if they could do it so could he and enjoyed it too.
Showing up for court and refusing to respect the court in the nude cost him greatly. When he did show respect the charges were usually dropped and he continued his mission.
go n nude
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Pete Knight
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Posted - 11/02/2007 : 6:09:20 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by go n nude
Showing up for court and refusing to respect the court in the nude cost him greatly. When he did show respect the charges were usually dropped and he continued his mission.
When the law pays him some respect he'll return it, he is in prison on trumped up charges, its not illegal to be naked so they charge him with Breach of the Peace, a law enacted to cover violent acts not a refusal to wear clothes. It started with him walking naked, which he had done through 600 miles of England and Wales, but in Scotland when he was close to finishing the walk they arrested him, and he hadn't been near a Scottish court, where was the respect for his rights then?
Having met and walked with Steve I can assure you that he is a decent guy, not as portrayed on TV or in the newspapers, and ad he been allowed to continue unmolested he would have finished the walk and gone home over a year ago.
Pete Knight
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NaturistDoc
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Posted - 11/02/2007 : 7:50:36 PM
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OK, the guy's a nutcase, but a nutcase on the side of the angels. Sometimes it takes a few nutcases to overdo things in order to shift public opinion. Remember Abbie Hoffmann and his anti-war antics back in the 60's? He was clearly over the top, but in a perverse sort of way, he gave wavering centrists a kind of 'permission' to oppose the Vietnam war. The fact that so many people in the UK have come to Gough's defense suggests that "nearly normal nudists" might have an easier time making their case as well.
I'm not exactly pleased about the child-abandonment issues, but that has more to do with Gough being a nutcase than with him being a nudist.
Doc
PS: I've been to John O'Groats in the summer, and it was damned cold! Gotta give Gough credit for endurance, if not for brains.
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aaardvark
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Posted - 12/10/2008 : 2:54:30 PM
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WE had a kind of similar situation here. A male nudist insisted he had a right to be at a particular beach and a situation arose that went before the police and through the courts system. He was found guilty of disorderly behaviour. Instead of accepting it, he appealed stating that he had a right as a nudist to be at that beach and the appeal judge overturned the decision, ruling that given the place and time, no offence had taken place as he was naked at a place that had a history as a beach that nudists used on a frequent basis. In the process he set a case-law precedent that worked on the side of the free-beachers. The so-called "true" naturists branded him a nutcase and a troublemaker. As Doc rightly says, it sometimes takes radical action to get things changed.
I'm on the opposite side of the world from Steve Gough but I regard him as a hero.
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n/a
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Posted - 12/10/2008 : 7:02:35 PM
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People who flaunt societal norms are always called "nutcases". Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. If this man harmed no one and broke no laws, then I don't see what the problem is.
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Edited by - n/a on 12/10/2008 7:04:05 PM |
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Drakkus
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Posted - 12/22/2008 : 5:45:39 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by runninaroundnaked
folk like this man & those on the wnbr:are not helping the naturist cause.they've had their stunts & made their point.you can't win against a government.
I'm sorry runninaroundnaked, but I completely disagree with this opinion. There are numerous examples throughout history saying that you CAN win against a government. The most obvious examples are Blacks and Gays.
Slavery used to be legal. It was on many law books that if you were a slave, you were forbidden to leave your owners property, or defy him in any way. Sometimes even to the point where your owner had the right (so called) to kill you if you simply defied an order.
So called "sodomy" is still on many law books, defined as "Anal intercourse between a man and a man or woman." Can you think of any other way for gays to have intercourse?
Another example: Women. Women used to have no rights whatsoever. Men had the right to beat their women, and mistreat them any way they felt like, with no repercussions. Women could be prosecuted for simply defying their husbands.
The thing about this is, every single one of these groups has had their extremists. They all had people who risked arrest, public humiliation, even death for their cause.
The naturist cause is not much different than these examples above. People like Steve Gough are going to have a far greater positive impact on the Naturist cause than trying to influence public opinion under the radar. His "crazy" antics did something. What that is, nobody knows yet, it's too recent. But it sort of reminds me of a black lady refusing to sit in the back of a bus. That simple act, it got her persecuted to no end, but it changed history in ways nobody would have predicted at the time.
Maybe something we should think about.
Be True and Stay Naked,
Drakkus
One is nothing more, and nothing less, than what they believe themselves to be.
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Protest: 'The Naked Rambler' Steve Gough in prison
