tradition”.
(Photo © J. Maus)
The Oregonian reports that a Multnomah County Judge has thrown out indecent exposure charges in a naked biking case because he feels that it’s a, “‘well-established tradition’ in Portland and understood as a form of ‘symbolic protest.'”
Here’s a snip from the Oregonian’s story:
Judge Jerome LaBarre said the city’s annual World Naked Bike Ride — in which as many as 1,200 people cycled through Northwest and downtown Portland this past June — has helped cement riding in the buff as a form of protest against cars and possibly even the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.
The naked biker in this case was Bobby Hammond. According to the story, he took off his clothes and rode his bike down NE Alberta Street on June 26 in order to “make clear that nothing was powering his mode of transportation but his own unadulterated body.”
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The streaking session caught the eye of the cops and Hammond was arrested (the arrest was caught on tape — see below).
The cops said city code forbids exposure of genitalia in public. The deputy district attorney working the case, Ryan Lufkin, worried that if the judge threw out the case it would give anyone whose ever been charged with indecent exposure the ability to argue that they were simply expressing free speech.
Judge Jerome LaBarre felt Hammond’s case qualified as free speech.
I’m not sure who I love more in this story, Hammond or Judge LaBarre.
Read the full story in The Oregonian.