A Washington man has filed a civil complaint against the city of Seattle arguing that a municipal voyeurism law is too broad and has placed a chilling effect on his own photography of women in short skirts.

Something of a fixture at a popular North Seattle park, David Zaitzeff, is often seen circling Green Lake park wearing a thong and bearing a sign offering free hugs and kisses.

Now, though, Zaitzeff hopes to walk into court to attack Seattle’s voyeurism law.

It seems that when he’s not giving hugs, Zaitzeff likes taking photos of “gals” sunbathing and recreating at Green Lake and elsewhere. And, according to a lawsuit he’s filed, he’s a little worried he may be violating the letter of the law.

Zaitzeff hasn’t been charged with any crime related to his photography. But he contends – in a lengthy civil complaint he penned himself – that the city’s voyeurism law is so broad he could be prosecuted for photographing a woman in a swimsuit or short skirt.

Representing himself, Zaitzeff sued the city of Seattle earlier in September. In a rambling complaint, he has asked that the city’s voyeurism law be thrown out as unconstitutional.

Usually carrying a sign offering free hugs and kisses along with a Bible notation, Zaitzeff visits Green Lake regularly.

Zaitzeff operates a pair of websites on which he extols the virtues of public nudity and other issues dear to him. He also posts photos of women that appear to have been taken without their knowledge.

pic.twitter.com/jImpGphr16 — david zaitzeff (@zaitzeff) August 26, 2014

David Zaitzeff, pictured in a photo posted to his Twitter account.

One showing a young woman in a dress carries this caption:

skirt of the length worn by some women at Greenlake . . . liable to be lifted up during athletic activities . . . or to leave panties exposed for other reasons at other times

In his lawsuit, Zaitzeff contends the city’s public voyeurism law has caused that most dreaded of First Amendment violations – a chilling effect on his freedom of expression.

“There are a number of photographs plaintiff would have taken … but for” the municipal code, Zaitzeff wrote in his lawsuit. “The most simple of such photographs have been of a variety of gals at Greenlake who were sunbathing in various short skirts in 2014.

“These short skirts … left exposed some of their underwear,” he continued. “The presence of such gals in such a position and such attire chilled the free and protected speech of taking photographs of gals in bikinis to the immediate left and right of any gal in the short skirt.”

On one of his websites, Zaitzeff went so far as to offer a public service announcement aimed at women who might not care to be photographed by a stranger.

According to Zaitzeff, women who angle their “bod” toward the Green Lake walking path are inviting others to look at or photograph them.

“Whether intentionally or unwittingly, these gals … are showing a nice figure, if they have it, to those who walk by on the walking path,” he wrote on one of his blogs, Greenlakewalking.com.

In his lawsuit, Zaitzeff claims the city of Seattle municipal code targeting voyeurism in public places runs counter to several U.S. Supreme Court decisions and criminalizes photographing women’s tennis, tango dancing or “side boob.”

“There have been and continue to be one or more females who wear at Greenlake park skirts of length such that the hem is higher than her fingers when her arms are at her sides,” Zaitzeff said in the complaint, including a link to a photo he took of such a “female.”

Zaitzeff included links to websites offering “up skirt” photos of Halle Berry and Princess Kate Middleton, among others.

Zaitzeff acknowledges that he hasn’t been prosecuted for his photography. Images on his sites don’t appear to have been taken surreptitiously, though it’s evident from his writing and lawsuit that he’s received complaints.

The city law against voyeurism in public places is meant to punish “up-skirt” photography and other intrusive photography not necessarily covered by state laws against voyeurism.

Under the law, it is a gross misdemeanor to photograph “another person's intimate areas that the person has covered with clothing” without that person’s consent and while in a public place. People who’ve willingly exposed themselves – as Zaitzeff often does, wearing a thong while circling Green Lake with his signs – aren’t protected by the law.

The lawsuit is Zaitzeff’s second in as many years against the city of Seattle.

In 2014, Zaitzeff filed a suit claiming he was harassed by a state Fish & Wildlife Department officer. Zaitzeff was walking Green Lake in what he described as his usual outfit – a “Brazilian” thong and shirt. At the time, he claimed to have walked the 2.8-mile loop at least 40 times since August 2012.

Zaitzeff claimed the officer threatened to arrest him if he returned to Green Lake in his thong. The officer claimed he could see Zaitzeff’s pubic hair, in apparent violation of state indecent exposure rules. Disregarding homonymy, Zaitzeff said that the officer’s demand that he stop wearing a thong in Seattle would have a “chilling effect.”

Zaitzeff argued his thong wasn’t outside the community norms. Doing so, he offered the court copies of photos taken or published by several news outlets – including a large collection from seattlepi.com – showing lightly dressed people in public.

Attorneys for Seattle and the state of Washington disputed Zaitzeff’s claims. The lawsuit was dismissed with Zaitzeff’s consent three months after it was filed.

The city hasn’t yet responded to Zaitzeff’s most recent lawsuit, which was filed in King County Superior Court. A trial date has not yet been set.

Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.