Women's Breasts vs. Men's: Could Police Discern?

After a New Hampshire judge essentially legalized topless female nudity, state lawmakers considered a bill banning bare female breasts/nipples in public, but critics explained that such a law would require police officers to determine if the offender is a man or a woman and because of the myriad new transgender rights, any apparent female offender could simply claim to "identify as a man" and thus negate the infraction.

"It's a shame that some folks are more concerned with exposing their breasts in public places than they are concerned about how families and children may be impacted by being forced to experience this evolving societal behavior.  This is about a movement to change the values of New Hampshire society."
-- Rep. Brian Gallagher (R), New Hampshire House of Representatives

For background, read how conservative lawmakers continually try to counter the sexual revolution of gay/transgender rights.

Also read President Obama Demands Communal Nudity in Public Schools

And read San Francisco Law Ensures Nudity at Parades, Festivals

-- From "'Nipple bill' killed by New Hampshire House" by Garry Rayno, State House Bureau, New Hampshire Union Leader 3/9/16

The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee had voted last week, 18-0, to kill the bill, with several members saying passing the bill would guarantee the law would be challenged in federal court because it violated equal protection rights under the Constitution.

Some on the committee said the place to enact restrictions is at the local level, not statewide, and others noted that if a women had commited a second offense under the proposal she would have had to register as a sex offender and could have spent up to seven years in jail.

New Hampshire, like most states, does not have laws prohibiting women from going topless if men are allowed the same privilege.

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From "NH nipple ban rejected, saving cops from 'uncomfortable position'" by The Associated Press 3/9/16

The House voted against making it a misdemeanor for women to show their breasts with "reckless disregard" for whether it would offend someone. The bill was partly a response to a "Free the Nipple" movement that led to two women being cited for going topless at a Gilford beach. A judge dismissed that case in February.

Bill supporters had cautioned that allowing women to go topless at beaches could lead to them also going topless at libraries and Little League games. They said they were trying to shield families and children.

[However, the House committee reported that] the bill also would place police officers "in the uncomfortable position of having to determine the gender of a potential offender."

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From "Lawmakers Behind 'Nipple Bill' Warn of Societal Decline" by Kathleen Ronayne, Associated Press 2/29/16

At Monday's public hearing, backers of the legislation cautioned that allowing women to go topless at beaches will create a slippery slope where women are going topless at public libraries and Little League baseball games. [Rep. Brian] Gallagher and Rep. Peter Spanos, a co-sponsor of the bill, said New Hampshire could lose tourism dollars if women are wandering public places with their breasts uncovered. Both said they brought the legislation in response to concern from constituents over the incident in Gilford.

But opponents charge such a ban violates the constitution by creating different standards for men and women. Kari Stephens, a Hampton resident who said she goes topless at the beach, argued lawmakers shouldn't be taking away a right that women in New Hampshire already have.

The New Hampshire chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union also opposes the bill.

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