I went to college in Ft. Collins, Colorado. It was a sleepy place in the 1980s. For excitement, goat ropers would drive their pick ups around town and look for people with new wave haircuts to beat up. I went back to Ft. Collins last year to give a talk and it seemed to be a bit more lively than it had been when I was a student there. But apparently, it’s getting a bit too lively for some residents, who pushed back against resident Brittany Hoagland’s proposal to “decriminalize the female breast” by giving women the same right as men to go topless in public.
From Fusion:
On Tuesday, the City Council debated Hoagland’s proposal, and decided to keep the law barring female toplessness in force. “A long line of speakers” appeared to give their important opinions to the City Council, the Denver Post says, and each was limited to a two-minute speech. Some highlights, from the Coloradoan, the Post, and The Associated Press:
- Many speakers arguing topless women would “erode the family atmosphere” of the town
- Others (probably men) “predicted that permitting exposed breasts would decrease respect toward women”
- At least one person believed that a topless policy would lead to an increase in car accidents
But the creative opposition to the law wasn’t limited to public residents; even Councilman Ray Martinez said “he didn’t want to see ‘Fort Collins turned into a strip club.’”
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