Perspectives: Sam’s Perspective – Bare-Chested

I’ve been sort of watching Tulsa deal with what to city officials, is a different sort of problem than what they’re used to. It has to do with a group skating along the walkway on Riverside Drive. I feel it necessary to keep you abreast of the situation, in case you missed the hullabaloo surrounding the event many were exposed to. While it’s OK to skate on the paved path, it appears the group felt it necessary to skate bare to the waist, men and women. It was labeled, by the group involved, as the Topless Trail Skate and took place on Sunday the 29th of September.
A spokesperson for the group said it was in support of the national “Free The Nipple” movement. The same spokesperson said she got the idea after seeing news from Fort Collins, Colorado, where the city reportedly repealed its ban on topless women after a costly battle in the 10th. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in which the court stated the ordinance “Likely is unconstitutional” in its ruling against the city. At first the city of Tulsa said it would adhere to the Court’s ruling, clearing the way for women to be topless in public. But then the state Attorney General stepped in saying in effect, the act of women going topless in public is against state law. The 10th. Circuit Court has jurisdiction over federal cases in six states including, Oklahoma. But our Attorney General, Mike Hunter said the case involving the city of Fort Collins, Colorado and doesn’t change our State law and that the Court’s ruling on the Fort Collins ban, did not decide the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s state law.
So the city of Tulsa changed its mind and said it would enforce the law. Meaning, its illegal for women to go topless in public in Oklahoma. It’s probably for the best.
Had the city not made the change, who knows what would have happened.
Next thing you know women would probably want to vote, or be paid the same as a man doing the same job, or drive a car or, Lord help us, run for office. Can you imagine? Why it’s even possible the state could pass a law that would make it illegal to leave the lid up. Well sir I have started to wonder why they passed the topless law in the first place. Did some woman go topless years ago in Oklahoma, which we all know was once a hoot and holler place? And if she did why is there no marker along the side of the road that says “On this spot before the Civil War, Mary Brown became the first woman to remove her top, which spooked the horses and caused an uproar.“ And we all know that uproars are forbidden in Oklahoma.
Was that what prompted the legislature to sing their own arrangement of that little song from the Music Man? Would it have been something like, “We got trouble, right here in River City with a capitol T and that rhymes with B and that stands for Breast.” We’ll never know but it’s a question about state history that deserves an answer. Guess it’s Just another unanswered Oklahoma history question laid bare to speculation.
I’m Sam Jones and that’s my perspective.