LACONIA, N.H. — A judge has dismissed a case against two New Hampshire women ticketed for going topless at a town beach, a case that led to a Facebook spat among legislators about a bill that would make it a misdemeanor for women to expose their nipples in public.
Heidi Lilley and Barbara MacKinnon are associated with the rise of the national “Free the Nipple” movement. Police said they violated an ordinance last September in Gilford that prohibits women from going topless.
A judge said as there’s no state law that prohibits the exposure of the female breast in public, the town lacked authority for a criminal prosecution that’s neither prohibited by the criminal code nor by statute.
When Republican legislators sponsored their bill, a female Democratic lawmaker spoke out about it and was attacked by two bill supporters. The exchange went viral.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.