Federal Judge: ‘Fort Collins cannot order women not to go topless’

 

“Free the nipple.” Otherwise known as going topless. Another present given to us by Obama. Obama nominated Federal Judge R. Brooke Jackson in 2010, and renominated him in January when the new congress convened. He has decided it is sexist to expect women to wear clothes. A bit brisk in Fort Collins right now to be going around topless I would say.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A federal judge has ordered the city of Fort Collins to stop enforcing a policy that bans women from showing their breasts in public.

It started with one woman asking, “If men can go topless, why can’t women?”

“It’s sexist because it specifically discriminates against female breasts,” Brittiany Hoagland said in 2015.

Hoagland, Samantha Six and a group called Free the Nipple — Fort Collins made headlines across the country when they protested on the corner of College Avenue and Mulberry Street with nothing but “opaque dressings” covering their nipples.

The Fort Collins City Council asked for public input but ended up voting to keep the topless ban for women in place.

After the decision, Hoagland, Six and Free the Nipple — Fort Collins filed a civil lawsuit against the city, claiming the policy violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

On Wednesday, Federal Judge R. Brooke Jackson ordered an injunction preventing police and the city from enforcing the ban.

“The court essentially agreed that any statute containing the concept that ‘Women are prohibited from …’ is likely unconstitutional,” attorney David Lane said in a statement.

In his ruling, Jackson disagreed with the argument that topless females might distract drivers and cause traffic issues that disrupt public order.

“[I]t appears that underlying Fort Collins’ belief that topless females are uniquely disruptive of public order is [a] negative stereotype … that society considers female breasts primarily as objects of sexual desire whereas male breasts are not,” Jackson said.

The judge cited a researcher as stating that sexual objectification of the female breast leads to negative cognitive, behavioral, and emotional outcomes and contributes to higher rates of sexual assault and violence. More at kdvr.com/hDkJ0