SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco's city attorney is urging a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to overturn the city's recently approved nudity ban.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/U1yQHg ) Dennis Herrera responded Thursday to the complaint filed by nudity activists who say the ordinance violates their constitutional rights.

The ban was approved by the Board of Supervisors this month and is scheduled to take effect Feb. 1. It bars nudity in public places, with exceptions at events like the Bay to Breakers race and the Folsom Street Fair.

Herrera says many municipalities have bans on public nudity and their constitutionality has been repeatedly affirmed by federal courts.

An attorney for the plaintiffs says there are many laws in other parts of the country that wouldn't be tolerated in San Francisco.

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