Public Urination Bill Flushed in Virginia

A Northern Virginia senator's attempt to make public urination a separate crime has been wiped away for this year.

Democratic Sen. Chap Petersen said the bill came in response to Fairfax County residents who were tired of college students using their bushes as an open-air porta-potty after a night out drinking.

Petersen's bill would have made public urination a Class 4 misdemeanor, punishable with a $250 fine. But the Senate's Courts of Justice effectively flushed the measure, voting 14-1 to pass it by indefinitely for this session.

Offenders may still want to be discreet though -- public urination can also be considered as indecent exposure, a more serious misdemeanor offense.

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