City Council: Women can’t go topless in Fort Collins

A flood of public disapproval swamped the movement to allow women to go topless in public in Fort Collins.

The City Council on Tuesday voted to change city code regarding public nudity, but not to the extent that women may legally expose their breasts in parks and other public places.

EDITORIAL: New moms win with topless decision

Exceptions would be breastfeeding women, medical emergencies and places where nudity would be expected, such as locker rooms.

The decision came in front of a packed City Council chamber after council members heard from dozens of residents about how allowing women to go topless would damage the community and its reputation.

Some predicted that permitting exposed breasts would decrease respect toward women and potentially put them in danger. Others said men and women are equal in the eyes of the law, but they and their chests are inherently different and should be treated accordingly.

POLL: Was topless Fort Collins a waste of time?

Mayor Wade Troxell said the sentiment of the community came through “loud and clear” at the meeting as well as the many emails and phone calls directed at council members.

Councilman Ray Martinez said he didn’t want to see “Fort Collins turned into a strip club.”

CONVERSATION: View live tweets from reporters at the city council meeting debating topless women in Fort Collins

The measure, which was amended to prohibit exposing the breast below the top of the nipple, passed unanimously.

Fort Collins resident Rachel Dozier said if public nudity were allowed, she would have to reconsider staying the city and raising a family here. Exposure to sexually explicit material is harmful to children, she said.

She said those who believe want the “freedom” to go topless do not have a valid argument.

“Our rights and freedom are not rights to the detriment of the people around us,” she said.

The issue has been pressed by Fort Collins resident Brittiany Hoagland and others who believe the ban on women going topless is sexist. The issue is a matter of gender equality, Hoagland told council members.

Samantha Six, who wore a T-shirt stating “Free the Nipple,” said the prohibition on topless women only leads to sexualizing and degrading women. She also took issue with those said they had moral concerns about the proposal.

“Equal but different isn’t equal,” she said. “And there isn’t room for religion in a public forum.”

PREVIOUSLY:  Your Take: Fort Collins weighs allowing women to go topless in public

A few speakers supported removing all references to the female breast from city code. But the vast majority of speakers opposed changing the code in any way.

Erin Kisling said she did not want her daughters treated as sexual objects. The matter was not as simple as proponents of changing the law claimed, she said.

“It’s about decency, respect, protecting oneself, teaching your children the value of their body and not giving in to the few who seek to cause noise and shock value,” she said.

An online survey posted by the city drew 8,750 responses, with 60.9 percent of respondents opposed to allowing women to be topless in public, but granting the exception of breastfeeding mothers, and 36.7 percent in support of lifting the ban.

Rules for appearing topless vary around the state. Denver and Boulder do not have prohibitions on women exposing their breasts, according to a city report.

Loveland prohibits exposure of the female breast below the top of the nipple; Colorado Springs prohibits exposure with the element to arouse or alarm; and Greeley prohibits lewd exposure, including the breasts of either sex, with the element to arouse or alarm.

Kevin Duggan is a Coloradoan senior reporter covering local government. Follow him on Twitter, @coloradoan_dugg.

NEWS:  Colorado unemployment rate nears 15-year low

In other action

The Fort Collins City Council on Tuesday:

•Approved on first reading an ordinance transferring $1,473,887 in reserve funds to pay for two 60-foot-long buses for the MAX bus rapid transit system. The vehicles were recently delivered by the manufacturer.

•Approved an ordinance appropriating $1.5 million in reserve funds to a project that would improve Timberline Road between Drake and Prospect roads. Total funding for the project is $5 million. Construction is scheduled in 2016.