Comment on Federal judge refuses to dismiss Free the Nipple lawsuit against Fort Collins

Tom McGhee, Denver Post: Politics
Thu, 10/20/2016 - 4:12pm

Federal judge refuses to dismiss Free the Nipple lawsuit against Fort Collins

A federal judge in Denver has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against Fort Collins that claims an ordinance that bars women from exposing their breasts in public violates the Constitution and is rooted in outdated puritanical values and discrimination. U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson said that the plaintiffs, Free the Nipple, an association of Colorado residents who advocate for gender equality, the group’s founder Brittiany Hoagland and Samantha Six, a group member, have “at the very least adequately stated a claim under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause.” Under that amendment, Free the Nipple alleges that Fort Collins’ ordinance is unconstitutional because a difference between the sexes on which it is premised is “used to perpetuate stereotypes about girls and women,” namely that society considers they and their breasts primarily objects of desire. Related ArticlesOctober 12, 2016 Judge offers guidance to lawyer in Denver homeless lawsuit October 5, 2016 Fort Collins police arrest teacher, coach on suspicion of sexually assaulting child relative September 22, 2016 Community college gets grant to set up veterans’ centers in Westminster, Fort Collins The judge did dismiss a second claim in the association’s suit based on the First Amendment, a claim that the message of their nudity is part of their protest’s message about “the allegedly sexist nature of certain laws.” In that case, he said that public nudity is not inherently expressive of any particular message. “This is a great victory for women’s rights and equality under the law,” David Lane, lawyer for Free the Nipple, said in an email Thursday. Hoagland brought the ordinance to the attention of the Fort Collins City Council last year.

 

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