A bill, sponsored by Springfield City Councilman Justin Burnett, would change the city’s indecent exposure ordinance. It will go before council for a first reading tonight, and citizens will have the chance to comment on it. In response to the “Free the Nipple” rallies recently on Park Central Square, Burnett proposes expanding the area of the breast that women can’t show in public. The current ordinance requires women to cover their nipples and areolas in public. Burnett is requesting stricter language that requires women to cover their breasts from the top of the areola down. You can view the proposed changes here.
Springfield city attorney, Dan Wichmer says, “The essence of the complaints received by Council and City staff are that the opponents of our current ordinance were offended by the protesters appearing "semi-nude.”
In a news release from the city, Wichmer says, an enhancement to the ordinance would not change the protesters' ability to gather and protest exactly as they did on Aug. 7.
“The act of appearing as the protesters did was ‘free speech,’ and it occurred in a traditional public forum as part of an organized demonstration/rally,” Wichmer said. “While some citizens may think that the City has the ability to prohibit the way in which the protesters are attired for events such as this, the First Amendment would protect such activity in a traditional public forum.”
According to the city, “Chicago had an indecent exposure law identical Springfield’s proposed enhanced ordinance, and it was recently held unconstitutional as applied to the ‘Free the Nipple’ rally there. The basis for the court's decision, Wichmer said, was that the City of Chicago could show no evidence of harm to the community that justified the upholding of application of its indecent exposure ordinance in that specific case.”
Anyone who wishes to speak tonight needs to sign up before the meeting with the city clerk—864-1650--and will have three to five minutes before council.
Council meets tonight at 6:30 at old City Hall.
View the entire Springfield City Council Agenda for tonighthere.
