Last Updated: Tuesday 12 May 1998
More Women Bare Their Breasts.

The debate over whether women should go topless in public is heating up in Maple Ridge as more residents take sides. After the local RCMP detachment's announcement it will not arrest longtime topless crusader Linda Meyer for public nudity, other women have been reported walking topless through the district's streets.

But Meyer said many more residents than she expected seem to be unhappy with the decision to cut her some slack and she is experiencing more insults and threats. "I figure I won fair and square and they would leave me alone," said Meyer. "I knew I had some opposition, but I didn't know how much I had until recently."

Meyer claims she has been bombarded with abuse since the RCMP announced their decision to stop arresting her because of a lack of support from the attorney-general's office. The detachment said it will not bother arresting Meyer or anyone else unless Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh changes his mind.

Meyer said a man on a bike rode past her recently and said she should be shot. "I take these threats very seriously," she said. "I thought they'd get used to it overnight."

Staff at municipal hall and Ridge Meadows RCMP meanwhile recommended that residents lobby the attorney-general if they are unhappy with the decision to turn a blind eye toward Meyer. RCMP said three women approached the front counter at the detachment recently to check if reports they read in the media were true, and ensure the detachment would not arrest them if they went topless. When they were told they would not be arrested, they walked outside and disrobed.

RCMP spokesman Dan Herbranson said he had heard of other women making the most of the local amnesty on toplessness. (sterling news service)