It is now legal to go topless in public in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Supreme Court issued an opinion last week that holds that women can go topfree without violating the Minnesota indecent exposure statute as long as they don’t engage in sexual conduct.
In short, the Court unanimously held that a woman who is topfree is not acting lewdly merely by appearing in public with her torso unclothed. Since the indecent exposure statute only criminalizes lewd behavior, a woman with an unclothed torso is not commiting a criminal act unless she is also engaging in sexual behavior. In other words, a woman merely going topless is neither lewd nor sexual and it’s perfectly legal.
It’s only useful about 3 months out of the year, and in those 3 months you’ve got to worry about mosquitos.
The best thing about this decision is that it removes a pretext cops used to search and arrest people.
The facts in this case are short and undisputed: On July 28, 2021, the Rochester
Police Department received a report that a woman was walking around a gas station
parking lot with her breasts exposed. An officer responded to the call and saw Plancarte
in the parking lot with her breasts exposed. The officer recognized Plancarte from two
encounters earlier that week. During those encounters, the officer saw Plancarte exposing
her underwear on one occasion, and her breasts and her underwear on another occasion.
The officer stopped Plancarte and asked her why she kept exposing herself.
Plancarte replied, “I think Catholic girls do it all the time.” Plancarte then worried about
how she would get home and stated, “I dance at the biker club. I’m a stripper.” The officer
said, “Well, you can’t strip in the middle of public.” Plancarte responded, “Yeah, but they
should account for me at the club, shouldn’t they?” The officer arrested Plancarte and later
searched her purse, where the officer found a vial containing cocaine.
Yeah, this is an anti-cop decision. I approve.
As usual for the US, one step forward in one state, two steps back in another. There are at least one clothing optional beach that has been brought up several times recently in naturist sources, under attack for the nudity, as evidenced by the literal statements made during discussions over it between those defending it, and those trying to stop it, but its being “pushed” as an issue over, “Failure to prevent lude acts on the beach and the need for the city to intervene.” Also, a recent resort lost so much business the owner had to sell, and the new owners, despite being in the middle of a community with a lot of naturists, decided it would no longer support them. And this is just the string of stupid BS. Like… the case, last year, of the woman who got arrested for being topless in her own garage with the door closed, but a neighbor peeked in, and called the cops. What for? “Child endangerment”, because she was cleaning the garage in the middle of freaking summer, topless, when it was extremely hot, with her kids helping, and, “OMG how could she be topless with her own kids?!?”
Starting to think we need to fund Muskrat’s bloody Mars thing, so we can give all the bigots in the US a “safe space” to set up a new colony, like what happened when all the bigots left Europe to come here, so they could practice their witch burning, then make it very, very, clear that they are not only not wanted, but their only hope is to go someplace else if they want to, “find bigot Jesus.”, like they so desperately want. Too bad we can’t take the cheap route and start a conspiracy they all can believe in that Antarctica is actually a tropical paradise, and convince them to move there…
This is the problem with there being no place left on Earth that is hospitable. That and the fact that there would likely be, once again, more native people to harass already there, if such did exist, they can’t just go the F away and practice their lies some place else, while we sigh in relief. And, of course, the country that originally got the crazy idea of no kings, and, “Heh, maybe we should try this everyone has rights thing?”, somehow had to become the battle ground on which they fought the, one hopes, last big war with this bullshit (assuming they don’t win, and we have to fight it all over again later to fix this crap).
I think I went to the wrong Catholic school.
A woman exposing her breasts in public is much less obscene that what we see happening every day in the ignorant christo-fascist plutocracy running this death spiral nation.
I went to a topless pizza joint once. But, I didn’t go back. I like mine with sauce, cheese and olives.
Oh, and as PZ pointed out, for decades police have often tried to find some tiny excuse to conduct an illegal search of someone. Welcome to the christo-fascist military police state!
All I could think is that this is great news for breastfeeding mothers in Minnesota!
Women sunbath topless in the Englischer Garten in Munich. Nobody there gives it a second glance. However, this is America, not Europe. Women here will have to contend with leering bros and geezers. Not to mention the catcalls and pickup lines. You can’t legislate civilized behavior.
Probably not as much as you would think. Leering and catcalls are a powerplay intend to establish dominance, so they’re less likely to attempt it against a woman confident enough to be topless in public.
Won’t be long before the “think of the children” brigade will be out in force though.
So how long before topless women are protesting outside of a prominent conservative’s home and they get singled out for arrest anyway?
Only about 30 years behind Canada on this one: the Gwen Jacob case that established that toplessness was not sufficient to fall afoul of public decency legislation was decided in 1996. And while that never made it to the Supreme Court and is only really valid in Ontario, in general the other provinces have been following that lead in how they handle similar situations.
It is perfectly legal to be totally nude in Portland OR. As long as you aren’t doing anything lewd/sexual. Which is why we can have naked bike rides and naked Portland Art Museum nights. YAY.
Mosquitos and bare breasts? Not a good combination. Surely sucking on a breast to get blood to breed is sexual behaviour. Will the morality police now search exposed breasts for evidence of something having a nibble?
@ ^ garydargan : Only the female mozzie sometimes feeds on blood – usually they & their male partners prefer nectar . Its something about them helping with their eggs.So I guess, technically, its GASP ! Shock!!!ty! Horruerur! Interspecies LESBIAN vampirism!!! Oh noez!!1ty!
Also morality police? Yeah, I guess the USA has unofficially had those for a while, since it began even. The legacy of the puritanical Puritans who founded the American colonies because of their own unwillingness to get along with others still lingers. What messed up set of priorities when anything sexual or even the human body is so politicised and seem as so bad to see and dirty yet guns and killing are seem as so grand and fine and good clean “fun.” Ofc, the USA ain’t alone in being messed up like that due to religion.
Total nudity is legal in Vermont, as long as one does not undress in public or engage in lewd conduct, and with certain exceptions including pubic parks and some community beaches. Local towns can pass more restrictive laws, and I believe it’s not legal in Brattleboro, but it is in most places. Of course this being Vermont the nudity season is very short, and lewd conduct is a rather malleable standard, but it’s a start.
@ 11 garydargan
Judging by the photo it’s just a few extra nipples. X-D
Silentbob @14
Seems as good a place as any to add the trivial detail that Harry Styles and Mark Wahlberg have extra nipples. I cannot unknow that now nor can anyone else. Cool for them.
“It’s only useful about 3 months out of the year”
Does it say it’s only permitted outdoors?
Presumably Morales is having fantasies of women in well heated spaces giving him an eyeful.
X-(