Penal Code - Brief Article

Reason, May, 2000 by Ryan H. Sager

Easily aroused men and boys had best steer clear of Mississippi--at least if State Sen. Tom King has his way. Concerned with the behavior of strip-club patrons, Sen. King has proposed a public nudity law that defines nakedness to include "the showing of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state."

"It will set some boundaries on what [strip club patrons] can or cannot do in a community," Forrest County Supervisor Johnny DuPree told Reuters earlier this year. DuPree, who has opposed the opening of a strip club at a local National Guard base, asked for a discussion of the law in the state legislature.

If a man has a hard time following the law, he could face up to $2,000 in fines and a year in jail. The bill, which was modeled on a similar statute in Indiana, has been sent to the Mississippi Senate Judiciary Committee for review.