Suit Challenges Chicago Topless Ordinance

The six-page lawsuit argues a Chicago ordinance prohibiting women from baring their chests violates the equal protection clause

The question of whether women have a right to go topless in public in Chicago is now a federal case.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday on Sonoku Tagami's behalf in federal court in Chicago accuses the city of violating her constitutional rights by ticketing her at a "Go Topless Day" event along Lake Shore Drive this summer.

The six-page lawsuit argues a Chicago ordinance prohibiting women from baring their chests violates the equal protection clause because men are allowed to go bare-chested in public.

The complaint links to a video of a police officer ticketing Tagami and telling her to cover up. A Chicago administrative judge later ordered she pay $150.

The lawsuit says Tagami wasn't ticketed during similar topless events in Chicago earlier.

The city didn't have an immediate comment.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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