Can You Legally Go Topless in Louisiana?
A sweeping movement for equality between men and women is gaining momentum after a landmark ruling in Colorado has challenged the way women are allowed to "display" their bodies. Six states now have amended their laws to allow women to join men in the right to go topless in public.
Yahoo News is reporting that the "Free the Nipple" campaign has been successful in living up to its name in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Kansas and now Oklahoma. It is now illegal for any town in these states to make a city ordinance that bans women from baring their breasts.
The ball got rolling in Ft. Collins, Colorado after the 10th Circuit court ruled that the city ordinance banning women from going topless was unconstitutional. The court determined that the ordinance was derived from "negative stereotypes depicting women's breasts, but not men's breasts, as sex objects."
It's worth noting that not every battle for equality in upper body nakedness has ended in success for the "Free the Nipple" folks. New Hampshire has struck down a proposal to let ladies go shirtless in February.
The question now is: Where will this movement strike next? Could the Ark-La-Tex be the next target for topless activists? Currently, it only legal for women in Louisiana to expose their breasts during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.