5 September 2004
Florida businesses to prohibit topless clientele
Bottomless behavior not addressed
ORLANDO, Fla. -- In a move that would likely have economic repercussions
throughout the state, the Central Florida Tourist Bureau (CFTB) has requested
that the state legislature adopt what has become known in Tallahassee as
the “No-Shirt-No-Shoes-No-Service” bill.
The
legislation would make it a misdemeanor
to patronize a restaurant or bar without "conforming to (1) one's torso
being covered with an opaque material from the top of the shoulder area to a
position defined as a line drawn around and perpendicular to the medial
plane of the torso from the top of the buttocks, and (2) footwear deemed
appropriate by weather conditions and safety conditions."
Interestingly, the area of "the torso from the top of the buttocks"
downward, was not addressed.
The
proposal for the bill
may have stemmed from a recent incident at an International Drive
fast food restaurant. According to police reports, Charles P. Fernwacker,
of Dayton, Ohio, was involved in an altercation with an employee of the
restaurant after he refused to put on a shirt. According to Mr. Fernwacker,
he was "making a statement about the inherent beauty of the unclothed
body."
Fernwacker was refused service whereupon, according to police records,
he became belligerent. The police were called, and Fernwacker was taken
into custody and charged with violating Florida civil code R22.357.88(H),
public display
of an oversize girth.
In the past week a rider has been attached to the proposed
bill by Charlotte Anestell (D-Pinellas County). That provision extends
misdemeanor offense status to wearing a baseball cap "in a location on
the wearer's crown in which the shaded protection of the bill of the cap
is arranged
in a position that is other than above the wearer's proboscis." (In
other words, backwards.)
This amendment to the bill follows on the heels of another incident between a
Massachusetts tourist and an employee of Tattoo World in Windermere, just this past month.
In that event, William "Backwards Bill" Sneader, shown here on the left,
refused to remove his cap during an American Legion event in Deland and
was summarily given the "ol' heave ho" from the meeting hall there.
According to
Ms. Donna Reskell, president of the CFTB, the bill has strong support in
Tallahassee and is expected to pass overwhelmingly.
Neither
Mr. Fernwacker nor Mr. Sneader returned inquires from Travel Fox.
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© 2004 Applied Psychology
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