Fox News host Bob Beckel says nudists 'probably gang-banged during childhood' as San Francisco outlaws public nudity

Fox News host makes incendiary comments during live broadcast of The Five program

Later, the proposal to ban nudity in San Francisco is approved



The legislation has caused outrage in the nudist community and a federal lawsuit



A Fox News panelist caused his co-hosts to squirm today as he implied that sexual assault was to blame for why San Francisco's nudists prefer to live their lives in the buff.



During today's live broadcast of The Five, Bob Beckel was seated with the usual hosts as they weighed the issue of the proposed nudity ban in San Francisco.



Dana Perino sparked a debate when she inquired of her cohorts: 'What happened to these people as children that they don’t want to wear any clothes?'

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Shock claim: Bob Beckel suggested that sexual assault was to blame when asked why anyone would like to strut around San Francisco without clothes on

Reaction: Co-host Dana Perino, right, looked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing as Beckel spoke during the live show

Naked passion: Protester Gypsy Taub speaks out against the Board of Supervisors decision to ban public nakedness

Andrea Tantaros suggested that those pushing back against the nudity ban are 'desperate for attention.'

But Beckel's opinion on the matter was a tad more extreme: 'Most of them were gang banged probably.

While his stunned co-hosts cringed, Beckel added: 'I don’t know - they could have had sexual assault on them.'

Nude protest: A naked demonstrator sits on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco as the ban was voted on by the council

Equally stunned were viewers who took to Twitter to voice their outrage over Beckel's comments.

One user tweeted: 'I wonder if [Perino] is proud to sit & made to shut up next to the misogynist men on [Fox News]. This is disgusting.'

Another suggested that Beckel has 'evolved from the village idiot.'

One more suggested that Beckel's remark earns him the distinction of the 'Joe Biden of Fox News.'

Hours after Beckel's outburst, San Francisco lawmakers narrowly approved a proposal to ban public nakedness, rejecting arguments that the measure would eat away at a reputation for tolerance enjoyed by a city known for flouting convention and flaunting its counter-culture image.

The 6-5 Board of Supervisors vote means that exposed genitals will be prohibited in most public places, including streets, sidewalks and public transit.

Supervisor Scott Wiener introduced the measure in response to escalating complaints about a group of men whose lack of clothing was an almost daily occurrence in the city's predominantly gay Castro District.

Opposition: Taylor Whitfield holds up a sign protesting the Board of Supervisors' ban on public nudity

A man undresses at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco, California October 30

'The Castro and San Francisco in general, is a place of freedom, expression and acceptance.

But freedom, expression and acceptance does not mean anything goes under any circumstances,' Wiener said on Tuesday.

'Our public spaces are for everyone and as a result it's appropriate to have some minimal standards of behavior.'

Weiner's opponents on the board said a citywide ban would draw police officers' attention away from more critical problems and eat away at city's reputation for tolerance.



A nude man carries a sign at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco, California October 30

Covered up: An officer rushes to put clothing on Gypsy Taub after the ban was narrowly approved

'I'm concerned about civil liberties, about free speech, about changing San Francisco's style and how we are as a city,' Supervisor John Avalos said.

Under Weiner's proposal, a first offense would carry a maximum penalty of a $100 fine, but prosecutors would have authority to charge a third violation as a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine and a year in jail.

Exemptions would be made for participants at permitted street fairs and parades, such as the city's annual gay pride event and the Folsom Street Fair, which celebrates sadomasochism and other sexual subcultures.

A federal lawsuit claiming the ban would violate the free speech rights of people who prefer to make a statement by going au naturel was filed last week in case the ordinance passes.