If, by chance, you like to walk around naked in public... and you find yourself in San Francisco...

Well, we hate to break it to you, but you'll have to keep your pants on. City lawmakers have officially approved a ban on public nudity.

City officials voted 6-5 in favour of banning anyone over the age of five from exposing "his or her genitals, perineum or anal region" in most public locations.

That includes streets, sidewalks and public transit.

The city will make exceptions for certain street fairs, parades, festivals and events - such as the annual gay pride event and the Bay-to-Breakers street run.

Officials took on the issue after receiving complaints about more and more people (mostly gay men) walking around naked in the Castro district, a hub for the gay community.

Here's a report from Associated Press.

As soon as the ban passed, some protesters inside City Hall took off their clothes. Authorities covered them up and led them away.

As well, some people have filed a federal lawsuit claiming the ban violates their First Amendment rights.

A member of the city's Board of Supervisors Scott Wiener - who proposed the ban - says that's not the case at all.

"We're a city that believes in freedom, and we've always believed in freedom and free expression," Wiener said. "But taking your pants off at Castro and Market and displaying your genitals to everyone, that's not free expression."

"Freedom, expression and acceptance does not mean anything goes under any circumstances," he said. "Our public spaces are for everyone and as a result it's appropriate to have some minimal standards of behavior."

After the vote, another supervisor John Avalos, raised several concerns.

"I'm concerned about civil liberties, about free speech, about changing San Francisco's style and how we are as a city," Avalos said. "I cannot and will not bite this apple and I refuse to put on this fig leaf."

Christina DiEdoardo is a lawyer who filed the lawsuit challenging the ban.

"Is the First Amendment more powerful and more important than the passions of an intolerant mob and the ambitions of one or more city supervisors?" DiEdoardo said.

"We would contend that it is, and that's what our case is based upon."

The law still has to pass a final vote and Mayor Edwin Lee has to sign it for it to take effect early next year.

Under the ban, anyone caught naked in public could face fines of $100 to $500, depending on whether they have previous offenses.

A person who breaks the law three times in a year could also face a year in jail.

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