Last summer, a ruling was made in Ocean City, MD that beach patrol would not confront women who chose to go topless on the beach, causing a rift between beach-goers in the popular vacation spot.
Shortly after, the Ocean City Council held an emergency meeting to pass a ban on public nudity to make the act enforceable once again.
Now, the issue is headed to court, challenging the public nudity ban that was hastily enacted.
Chelsea Eline and four other women filed a suit with the U.S. District Court, claiming the ban is unconstitutional. The lawsuit claims it "is about confirming the legal right of women to be bare-chested, in public, in the same places that men are permitted to be bare-chested, for purposes other than breastfeeding."
A national civil rights activist representing Eline said, "My clients and I look forward to litigation of this case to its rightful conclusion – that being the enforcement of the equal protection clause on behalf of the citizens of Ocean City and the state of Maryland."