Public Indecency Ordinance Posed

Unable to restrict public toplessness since a December court ruling, Moscow city officials now are considering a new public indecent-exposure ordinance.

The city’s administrative committee met Monday to discuss the proposed new ordinance, which would make it illegal to show one’s genitals or the cleft of the buttocks, according to City Attorney Randy Fife. It also would prohibit women from showing their areola, with the exception of women in the act of breast feeding.

The ordinance also requires that the aureola must be covered by something opaque, Fife said. The opaque clause would restrict wearing a wet T-shirt, for example, but allow women to show cleavage or wear halter tops or bathing suits. A thong bikini would not be prohibited by the new ordinance.

Moscow’s city supervisor asked the city attorney to propose a new ordinance after Second District Judge John Stegner ruled that the current law was unconstitutionally vague and did not apply to the female breast.