OCEAN CITY — Ocean City gained a win this week in an appeal challenging the town’s ordinance prohibiting female toplessness in public, but the victory was tempered somewhat by an acknowledgment public sensibility on the issue may be changing.
A three-judge U.S. Fourth Circuit panel this week denied an appeal in a federal civil suit challenging the town’s ordinance prohibiting female toplessness in public in the same areas where men can be shirtless. The opinion released on Wednesday came after a U.S. District Court judge in 2020 granted the Town of Ocean City summary judgment in the federal case challenging the resort’s female toplessness ordinance.
In January 2018, a civil suit was filed in U.S. District Court challenging an emergency ordinance passed by the Mayor and Council in June 2017 prohibiting females from going topless in the same areas as men are allowed to go shirtless, including the beach and Boardwalk, for example. The plaintiffs in the case, including local resident Chelsea Eline and four others, argued the emergency ordinance passed by the Mayor and Council in June 2017 violated their constitutional rights allowing them, and ostensibly any other woman who chose to do so, to go topless in certain areas of the resort where men are allowed to go shirtless.
In April 2020, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed the case, essentially opining Ocean City officials have a better understanding of the public sensibilities of their residents and visitors regarding the issue of allowing women to go topless in the same public areas where men are allowed to go shirtless, including the beach and Boardwalk for example. The U.S. District Court’s ruling in the case relied largely on the precedent-setting U.S. v. Biocic case heard by the Supreme Court nearly three decades ago. In June 1989, a woman was cited and fined $25 for going topless on a beach in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in violation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife regulations.
After the U.S. District Court judge dismissed the case, Eline and the other four plaintiffs filed an appeal in the Fourth Circuit, seeking to overturn the lower court’s ruling in favor of the Town of Ocean City. On Wednesday, the three-judge Fourth Circuit panel dismissed the appeal, effectively ending the issue.
Boooo! 😠👎
You mean “Boooobs”!
Great, nothing nicer , but there is a place for it and it’s not in the public for random viewing by strangers. There is something to be said about a person that wants to be on display and it’s doubtful it’s positive.
Well now you know the country has gone to hell !!! LOL
Where is the High Court for ELECTIONS ?????
NO more fun in the Sun !!!!!
Sad times we are living in.
Ta Ta’s in the news!
Save the Ta Ta’s
Boobie Talk!
This would certainly beat showing off female beer bellies on the beach. Pass an ordnance covering those gross displays.
Staying abreast of the news, the Appeals Court decision was a bust for the plaintiffs and exposed lack of support for them.
A huge treasure chest trove of fun bags for all!
(snicker snicker)
this is just to prevent all those future lawsuits from those fat disgusting pennsylvania and bmore women from suing oc when they get splinters in their titties from letting them drag on the boards!