Judge says women can go topless in Colorado town

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A federal judge in Denver blocked the Fort Collins ban on female toplessness Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson wrote the ordinance — which mandates women will not knowingly expose their breasts in public — is rooted in discrimination against women.

"Thus, it perpetuates a stereotype engrained in our society that female breasts are primarily objects of sexual desire whereas male breasts are not," Jackson wrote.

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Jackson granted the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction and said it's likely to succeed at a permanent injunction. He wrote that he would likely find the ordinance unconstitutional when the case goes to trial.

He criticized city lawyers' chief arguments that the law maintains public order and protects children. He cited testimony by Fort Collins Police Services assistant chief Jerry Schiager, who told the court that topless women would cause distracted driving and traffic issues, which Jackson said "amounts to little more than speculation."

Jackson also criticized the city's inability to provide "meaningful evidence" to support its argument that the sight of a female breast endangers children.

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City attorney Carrie Daggett issued a statement Wednesday, in which she said the city would no longer cite women for exposing their breast in public, pending a final decision in the case.

"While the judge has acknowledged the other cases upholding similar laws, he concluded he is likely to find the city’s restriction on female toplessness in public is based on an impermissible gender stereotype that results in a form of gender-based discrimination," she wrote. "The city is reviewing the judge's decision in this case and city legal, policy and enforcement staff will be considering the city’s options for next steps in light of the order."

Plaintiff Brit Hoagland said the preliminary injunction is a "historic victory."

Hoagland said the fight over the topless ban was not as important as the fight over the right to vote or other current social justice issues but that the injunction granted privileges to women that men had all along.

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"It’s a huge relief," Hoagland said. "It is definitely a big win."

Jackson cited evidence including testimony by the chair of Colorado College's psychology department that sexual objectification of the female breast contributes to higher rates of sexual assault and violence as factors in his decision.

"The naked female breast is seen as disorderly or dangerous because society, from Renaissance paintings to Victoria’s Secret commercials, has conflated female breasts with genitalia and stereotyped them as such," Jackson wrote.

The complaint, filed in May 2016, alleges the city of Fort Collins violated the free speech clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The local effort by Free the Nipple supporters is part of an international movement to end bans on females being topless in public.

Neighboring cities, including Denver, have no gender-specific indecency laws.

Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Cassa Niedringhaus on Twitter: @CassaMN