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Women Arrested in Topless Protest on Daytona Beach

Saturday, March 6, 2004 – updated: 8:49 am EST March 8, 2004

A woman who organized a topless protest of this city's public nudity ordinance was arrested Sunday after she exposed her breasts while marching down a crowded street.

Elizabeth Book, 42, of Ormond Beach, was the only woman who bared her breasts during the protest of about 20 people. She was released from jail and ordered to pay a $253 fine or make a court appearance, police said.

Book's lawyer, Larry Walters, said she is considering notifying the federal court in Orlando that police violated her First Amendment rights by preventing her from carrying out a "political demonstration." The nudity ordinance does not cover political demonstrations, he said.

The protest was held on the last day of Bike Week, the annual gathering of motorcycle aficionados. It featured several men who took off their shirts in support and a group of protesters who held signs that said, "Stop sexualizing my breasts."

Book and co-organizer Shirley Mason sued the city and mayor in a pre-emptive move in federal court in Orlando on Friday, saying they believe it is unfair that only men are allowed to go topless in public places. Their lawsuit claimed they should be allowed to protest topless under the free speech, freedom to assemble and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

Daytona Beach officials had warned the protest would violate city ordinances against public nudity, disorderly conduct and obstructing sidewalks. The nudity ordinance requires a "full and opaque covering" of the nipple and aureola of a woman's breast, in addition to half of the surface of the breast below the aureola.

Robin Anderson, 36, used that part of the ordinance to avoid arrest Sunday. The Port Orange resident covered each of her breasts with a local radio station sticker and lifted her shirt.

Mason, executive director of Beaches Foundation Institute, a pro-nude beach organization, has battled other government agencies over their topless policies. She is one of 10 women suing Brevard County over its anti-nudity ordinance.

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