Justices reject topless beach appeal

CONCORD, N.H. >> The U.S. Supreme Court is leaving in place the public nudity convictions of three women who removed their bathing suit tops on a New Hampshire beach as part of a global campaign advocating for the rights of women to go topless.

The justices declined Monday to review a state court decision that found no violation of the women’s constitutional rights.

Heidi Lilley, Kia Sinclair and Ginger Pierro are part of the Free the Nipple campaign, a global effort advocating for the rights of women to go topless. They were arrested in 2016 after removing their tops at a beach in Laconia and refusing to put them on when beachgoers complained. Pierro was doing yoga, while the two others were sunbathing.

Dan Hynes, who represented the women, said he was disappointed. They are considering their next option, he said, including filing for relief in federal court and asking the New Hampshire legislature “to make it clear that towns and cities lack the authority to create violations of law involving someone’s sex.”

“The government should not be allowed to create a crime that requires proof of someone’s sex as an element of the offense,” he said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that 100 years after being granted the right to vote, the City of Laconia has decided to keep women second class citizens, with permission of the New Hampshire Supreme Court.”

In a 3-2 ruling last year, New Hampshire’s highest court upheld the conviction of the three women, finding their constitutional rights were not violated.