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National go topless protest day
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Sunday, August 23, 2009 is "National Go Topless Protest Day." According to GoTopless.org, "topless women will rally in great numbers across the USA to protest this gross inequality in the law and will demand that they be granted the fundamental right to be topless where men already enjoy that right..."
On August 26, 1920, the U.S. Constitution was amended to grant women the right to vote. By choosing a date in August for the national protest, organizers of the Topless Day hope to highlight what they see as a connection between women's rights and the right to go topless. They also want to simply make the point that women's breast are not shameful or lewd. They say:
GoTopless is committed to helping women perceive their breasts as noble, natural parts of their anatomy (whether they are nursing or not). Breasts shouldn’t have to be “modestly” or shamefully hidden from public view any more than arms, legs or feet.
Cities known to be participating this year include New York City, Venice Beach, Chicago, Miami Beach, Portland, Maui, and Columbus – yes, that's Columbus, Ohio!
Columbus, Ohio, was the location of an interesting topfree story in the news a few years ago. In 1995 five women who went topless in the Columbus Gay Pride parade were arrested and later released. The charges were later dropped. According to Ohio Law, breasts are not considered "private parts", so in Ohio if a woman is topless in public, it is not considered indecent exposure. In fact, three of the women who had been arrested in the Columbus Pride parade, later sued the city of Columbus for false arrest and won their case. They were paid $15,000 in total for damages. Since then, the Columbus police force has been educated not to arrest top free women. Unfortunately, not all cities in Ohio seem to honor this statute, so the police in some cities might ask topless women to cover up – supposedly on the grounds that they are "causing a public disturbance." So long as women comply with any such police request, they supposedly should not be in danger of any legal action.
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