Volunteers Are Important
This month’s focus is on nudist volunteerism. That is the main commitment of your Government Affairs Team. Without strong volunteers, we would not have a GAT team.
I report in the weekly update the number of bills we receive for review each week. The numbers can be staggering. We had over 550 in January, the last full month I have data for as I write this column. The time it takes to review each bill and determine if it affects nudists is too much for one person to take on alone. Your teams in each region have members who review the notices that come in from our State Net bill analysis feed, as well as look at their local municipalities to see what local items affect us.
This is time-consuming and requires a knowledge learned over years of reading bills to understand the true meaning of phrases that include nude images or actions, but many times are not aimed at nudists per se but at other activities happening while nude people are present. From simple nudity to child exploitation, we must look at each bill and see how it might impact us as we gather at our homes, clubs, or public venues to enjoy some nude time.
It is the team members’ dedication to making sure you are safe when you engage in group activities that drive our efforts to make sure bad laws don’t sweep us up with nefarious activities not consistent with wholesome nude recreation. I can’t say enough about the team members who make this effort every day for us. Their efforts deserve the Thank You of all the nudists who can enjoy gathering, whether in public or private spaces, to foster a strong nudist community. It’s a pleasure to work with so many dedicated volunteers who protect nude use for all of us.
We lost one of those dedicated team members on Valentine’s Day this year. Thank you, Dave Smith of AANR-Northwest, for your years of service to the team.
Tim Mullins
AANR Government Affairs Chair
