Australians Angry Over Bid To Ban Topless Sunbathing

Sun-loving Australians have reacted angrily to a bid by a conservative Christian lawmaker to ban topless sunbathing on beaches in the country's most populous state.

Christian lawmaker and veteran morals campaigner Reverend Fred Nile won backing from key politicians in New South Wales state, counting Sydney and its famed ocean beaches, to tighten existing laws covering nude sunbathing.

"The law should be clear. It must say exposure of women's breasts on beaches will be prohibited," Nile said. He said that families at the beach during the summer holidays did not want topless women.

But scores of callers to radio talkback stations complained about the plan and Leanne Peters from a nudist club in the capital Canberra said Australia would look like a "haven for prudes" in the unlikely event that laws passed parliament.

Health Minister Jodi McKay said although exposure to the sun wasn't always healthy, banning topless sunbathing was a step too far: "We don't want to go down the slippery slope of banning activities like this. What would be next, banning breastfeeding?" she said.

Australians love their suntans with topless sunbathing common on most beaches since the 1960s -- and how can we leave you hanging without some topless sunbathing photos?

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