Jurist reports:
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday ruled in favor of an Ocean City law banning women from sunbathing topless.
Ocean City, a Maryland beach town, passed the ban in 2017 after Chelsea Eline, one of the plaintiffs, called the town police claiming she had the right to be topless at the beach. While the law prohibits both men and women from exposing certain body parts at the public beach, only women have to cover their chests.
There's more:
Eline sued the city along with four other women. They claimed that the ban illegally discriminates against women based on their gender in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The city countered by referencing the residents’ broad support of the ban, as evidence through letters and phone calls to city officials. The US District Court for the District of Maryland rejected the plaintiffs’ argument and granted Ocean City’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiffs appealed.
The Fourteenth Amendment in the news.
