New Hampshire won’t ban women from showing breasts, nipples
CONCORD, N.H. » The New Hampshire House today rejected a bill that would have made it crime for women to expose their breasts or nipples in public, a measure that caused an online dispute among several legislators that drew national attention.
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.
The bill caused the spat among lawmakers in December after a male lawmaker said if women want to show their breasts publicly, they should be OK with men wanting to “grab” them.
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.
Opponents said such a ban violates the constitution by creating different standards for men and women.
In its report recommending the bill’s rejection, the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety said it heard testimony from many who warned that, due to likely acts of civil disobedience, the state would face expensive court fees if the bill became law. The New Hampshire chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union testified that violation of such a law could be considered protected political speech, indicating the state would be unsuccessful in litigation.
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The report said many believed the listing of an offender in the state’s sex offender registry after a second conviction to be an excessive punishment.
It said the bill also would place police officers “in the uncomfortable position of having to determine the gender of a potential offender.”
It added, “In a state with an average temperature of only 46 degrees, the risk of rampant nudity seems rather low.”
6 responses to “New Hampshire won’t ban women from showing breasts, nipples”
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I travel home by bus from Waikiki at night and have had many offers to lower my jean shorts and or “show more.” It goes on all the time on “da bus” out here. As it will when the outdated rail is finished.
Geez, I thought our legislature concerned itself with introducing silly legislation. I guess we’re not so bad after all.
Yes, folks, this is how it starts. Liberals legislators and liberals judges will make it ok for women to show their nipples or breasts on a beach, but if it is ok to do it on a beach, it soon will be ok to do it anywhere. Next will come complete nudity on beaches followed by nudity anywhere. And it could get worse. The moral fabric of America is being ripped to shreds and no seems to care.
I don’t see this as leading to a cascade of bare-breasted females flaunting their wares in public places, at least for the foreseeable future. Remember, you don’t legally have much of an expectation of privacy in such venues. Most young women with the expectation of getting a good job, a political career or elected office, or any other professional future dependent on a perception of trust and stability, are not going to place themselves in situations where their brazen topless images will be plastered over social media. In this society, unless your chosen career is sex worker (where legal) or as a star in adult cinema or as a stage performer at strip clubs, you probably aren’t going to want that. As a parallel social development, look to the surge of tattoos appearing in recent years. Yes, getting a visible tattoo is perfectly legal, but there are many invisible lines that most thoughtful people contemplating a new tattoo just won’t cross.
Beginning of the end. Next thing you know alla them hapahaole kids will walk down the streets with no shame at all. Rotten liberals.
“It added, “In a state with an average temperature of only 46 degrees, the risk of rampant nudity seems rather low.”” Some common sense. I suspect it is warm enough to strip down about one week a year in New Hampshire.