Saturday, January 29, 2005
Breast Equality on CA's Beaches?
Here we go again, folks. Under the equality rubric, a female public defender from Ventura County wants to make it legal for women to sunbathe topless in California's public beaches and parks, without being "exposed" as sex offenders under the state's Megan's Law. According to the following article by Kate Folmar of the Mercury News, Liana Johnsson claims that the current prohibition against female topless sunbathing is sexual discrimination.
Sexual discrimination? Is she crazy? If Johnsson's desire is to become European, why doesn't she move to France... or voluntarily double her income-tax contribution to the US Treasury? Ironically, Europe, with its liberal, socialistic, secular practices, offers women lots of discrimination. Ask any American woman who does business with European men; she will tell you about rampant discrimination.
Notwithstanding that the religious foundation of this country, respected by traditional families in all 50 states, classifies public nudity as lewd and offensive, baring breasts will yield unintended -- yet obvious -- consequences to all of us. If female topless sunbathing in public beaches and parks were to become legal, traditional families (the majority) will no longer visit them. The resulting drop in park revenues would compound Governor Schwarzenegger's challenge to balance the budget. Kids won't be able to swim on hot days. Moreover, the spectacle of topless women will lure lots of unwanted wackos to these public places.
If you really believe that toplessness for man and a woman is the same and that nudity laws have compromised your equality, you have reached the bottom of the sanity barrel. Get real. Respect families. Boundaries exist for a reason. Go to a private beach. Stop wasting the time and money of the rest of us taxpayers.
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Topless law may put women on offender list
LEGAL CLARITY SOUGHT ON ISSUE OF EXPOSURE
By Kate Folmar, January 29, 2005, Mercury News
SACRAMENTO - Picture a gorgeous day. Surf and sand. Perfect time to erase unsightly tan lines or just enjoy the sun's warmth on your chest.
At least, if you're a guy.
Under a little-known law, it's illegal for women to sunbathe topless on California state beaches or in state parks. Worse, some lawyers contend, topless sunbathing could land women on the state's sex-offenders database for life.
So lawyers with the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations are shopping around for a lawmaker willing to clarify the law, or even take a step toward what they view as gender equality.
It may sound like one of those wacky, only-in-California stories that appeal to television news shows. Indeed, ``A Current Affair'' and Fox News are interested.
But backers of ``breast equality'' -- spearheaded by Liana Johnsson, a public defender from Ventura County -- say there's much more at stake.
The concern is that a woman can be arrested for indecent exposure for removing her bikini top on state beaches -- although no one has found a specific case.
A December appeals court decision from Orange County determined that someone who is convicted of indecent exposure must register as a sex offender under California's Megan's Law. Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer, said he knows of no topless sunbathers on the Megan's Law database. Under the law, there must be ``lewd'' intent for an indecent-exposure conviction, which requires registration as a sex offender. It does not trigger a posting on the Internet, meant for more serious crimes.
Nevertheless, Johnsson and others argue, the court's decision opens a disturbing possibility.
She wants bans on topless sunbathing to go the way of laws prohibiting women from voting and barring breast-feeding in public.
``My hopes are for equality,'' Johnsson said. ``My bottom-line hope is that we get the last law on the books that's sexual-discrimination-based off the books.''
Lobbyist Randy Perry of Aaron Read & Associates, who represents the lawyers' group, said there are other concerns beyond whether women have the fundamental right to bare breasts on beaches. If the benchmark of indecent exposure is lewd intent, who defines lewd?
``If a woman's there, putting on suntan lotion, lathering it up, is that lewd?'' he asked. Or, what if someone is just offended by the sight of bare breasts? ``Is lewdness in the eye of beholder?''
Perry hopes to find a bill author soon. The most likely option is to specifically exempt from Megan's Law topless sunbathers who have done nothing else wrong.
Johnsson's preference would be total legalization. But she knows hers is a long-shot quest that could take time.
``The fact that it's illegal for me to do something that men can do is like a wound. And the fact that you would have to register as a sex offender is like salt in the wound,'' she said. ``Yes, it's OK that they should take the salt out. But it doesn't eliminate the wound.''
California's rules on topless sunbathing are scattershot, reports a travel Web site. The state has several beaches where topless or nude sunbathing are informally allowed.
In liberal Santa Cruz, where shirtless women have been known to protest in the city council chambers, an equality push in the 1970s led to an open mind toward female toplessness on beaches. According to county law, ``nudity'' is narrowly defined as being ``devoid of opaque covering'' below the belt.
California's parks and beaches ban nudity, but a department spokesman said people are almost never cited. ``What our rangers do is ask them to cover up,'' said parks spokesman Joe Rosato. ``They get about 100 percent compliance.''
Assemblyman Ray Haynes, a Temecula Republican who does sunbathe shirtless, is skeptical of the effort unless someone can show him a specific case of a sunbather forced to register as a sex offender.
``It's just a way to try and punch holes in the law,'' he surmised. ``Until we have a real problem that needs to be addressed, we'll leave Megan's Law alone.''
Randy Thomasson of the Campaign for Children and Families is aghast at what he's calling the ``Drop Your Top'' law. Any changes will just encourage public nudity and ruin family outings, said Thomasson, who usually wears T-shirts at the beach because of his fair skin.
Women, he said, are ``repulsed'' by overweight shirtless men. Men, however, are fascinated and stimulated by topless women. ``This is not freedom for women,'' he said. ``It's basically exposing women and foolish teenage girls to inappropriate treatment at the beach or park.''
Contact Kate Folmar at kfolmar@mercurynews.com or (916) 441-4602.
Sexual discrimination? Is she crazy? If Johnsson's desire is to become European, why doesn't she move to France... or voluntarily double her income-tax contribution to the US Treasury? Ironically, Europe, with its liberal, socialistic, secular practices, offers women lots of discrimination. Ask any American woman who does business with European men; she will tell you about rampant discrimination.
Notwithstanding that the religious foundation of this country, respected by traditional families in all 50 states, classifies public nudity as lewd and offensive, baring breasts will yield unintended -- yet obvious -- consequences to all of us. If female topless sunbathing in public beaches and parks were to become legal, traditional families (the majority) will no longer visit them. The resulting drop in park revenues would compound Governor Schwarzenegger's challenge to balance the budget. Kids won't be able to swim on hot days. Moreover, the spectacle of topless women will lure lots of unwanted wackos to these public places.
If you really believe that toplessness for man and a woman is the same and that nudity laws have compromised your equality, you have reached the bottom of the sanity barrel. Get real. Respect families. Boundaries exist for a reason. Go to a private beach. Stop wasting the time and money of the rest of us taxpayers.
-------------------------------------------------------
Topless law may put women on offender list
LEGAL CLARITY SOUGHT ON ISSUE OF EXPOSURE
By Kate Folmar, January 29, 2005, Mercury News
SACRAMENTO - Picture a gorgeous day. Surf and sand. Perfect time to erase unsightly tan lines or just enjoy the sun's warmth on your chest.
At least, if you're a guy.
Under a little-known law, it's illegal for women to sunbathe topless on California state beaches or in state parks. Worse, some lawyers contend, topless sunbathing could land women on the state's sex-offenders database for life.
So lawyers with the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations are shopping around for a lawmaker willing to clarify the law, or even take a step toward what they view as gender equality.
It may sound like one of those wacky, only-in-California stories that appeal to television news shows. Indeed, ``A Current Affair'' and Fox News are interested.
But backers of ``breast equality'' -- spearheaded by Liana Johnsson, a public defender from Ventura County -- say there's much more at stake.
The concern is that a woman can be arrested for indecent exposure for removing her bikini top on state beaches -- although no one has found a specific case.
A December appeals court decision from Orange County determined that someone who is convicted of indecent exposure must register as a sex offender under California's Megan's Law. Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer, said he knows of no topless sunbathers on the Megan's Law database. Under the law, there must be ``lewd'' intent for an indecent-exposure conviction, which requires registration as a sex offender. It does not trigger a posting on the Internet, meant for more serious crimes.
Nevertheless, Johnsson and others argue, the court's decision opens a disturbing possibility.
She wants bans on topless sunbathing to go the way of laws prohibiting women from voting and barring breast-feeding in public.
``My hopes are for equality,'' Johnsson said. ``My bottom-line hope is that we get the last law on the books that's sexual-discrimination-based off the books.''
Lobbyist Randy Perry of Aaron Read & Associates, who represents the lawyers' group, said there are other concerns beyond whether women have the fundamental right to bare breasts on beaches. If the benchmark of indecent exposure is lewd intent, who defines lewd?
``If a woman's there, putting on suntan lotion, lathering it up, is that lewd?'' he asked. Or, what if someone is just offended by the sight of bare breasts? ``Is lewdness in the eye of beholder?''
Perry hopes to find a bill author soon. The most likely option is to specifically exempt from Megan's Law topless sunbathers who have done nothing else wrong.
Johnsson's preference would be total legalization. But she knows hers is a long-shot quest that could take time.
``The fact that it's illegal for me to do something that men can do is like a wound. And the fact that you would have to register as a sex offender is like salt in the wound,'' she said. ``Yes, it's OK that they should take the salt out. But it doesn't eliminate the wound.''
California's rules on topless sunbathing are scattershot, reports a travel Web site. The state has several beaches where topless or nude sunbathing are informally allowed.
In liberal Santa Cruz, where shirtless women have been known to protest in the city council chambers, an equality push in the 1970s led to an open mind toward female toplessness on beaches. According to county law, ``nudity'' is narrowly defined as being ``devoid of opaque covering'' below the belt.
California's parks and beaches ban nudity, but a department spokesman said people are almost never cited. ``What our rangers do is ask them to cover up,'' said parks spokesman Joe Rosato. ``They get about 100 percent compliance.''
Assemblyman Ray Haynes, a Temecula Republican who does sunbathe shirtless, is skeptical of the effort unless someone can show him a specific case of a sunbather forced to register as a sex offender.
``It's just a way to try and punch holes in the law,'' he surmised. ``Until we have a real problem that needs to be addressed, we'll leave Megan's Law alone.''
Randy Thomasson of the Campaign for Children and Families is aghast at what he's calling the ``Drop Your Top'' law. Any changes will just encourage public nudity and ruin family outings, said Thomasson, who usually wears T-shirts at the beach because of his fair skin.
Women, he said, are ``repulsed'' by overweight shirtless men. Men, however, are fascinated and stimulated by topless women. ``This is not freedom for women,'' he said. ``It's basically exposing women and foolish teenage girls to inappropriate treatment at the beach or park.''
Contact Kate Folmar at kfolmar@mercurynews.com or (916) 441-4602.
