Woman At Center Of Ocean City Toplessness Fight Hires Civil Rights Lawyer

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Maryland woman who kicked off the Ocean City toplessness debate when she contacted the Worcester County State's Attorney's office about the legality of it last year has hired a lawyer.

Chelsea Covington, a national advocate for the "topfreedom" movement, is now represented by Pennsylvania-based civil rights lawyer Devon M. Jacob, of the Jacob Litigation firm in Mechanicsburg.

Jacob said the next step could be a federal lawsuit against Ocean City. He claims the ban on bare-chested women is illegal.

"Why is it necessary to pass an ordinance to say that a female has to be covered up?" said Jacob in a phone interview with WJZ.

After Convington contacted Worcester County AG Beau Oglesby in October last year, he ran the matter up the flagpole, requesting an opinion from Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh.

Last week, Frosh said requiring women to cover up on top while allowing men to expose their chests does not violate state or federal constitutions.

The debate was reignited about a week before that, when it was widely reported that Ocean City Beach Patrol employees were told not to bother women who go topless on the beach.

After that, the City Council of Ocean City unanimously passed the emergency ordinance prohibiting public nudity, fearing that the popular vacation town would lose its reputation for being a family friendly destination. The legislation says a woman wearing less than a fully opaque covering will be fined $1,000 dollars.

"We will not allow women to be topless on our beach or on any public property within the city limits of Ocean City," said Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan. "We have never been a topless beach, and we will not become a topless beach."

"This may seem like a joke to many people, but this is a very serious issue," Jacob said.

Jacob said he and his client are building their case, but haven't filed any kind of lawsuit yet.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available. The news of Covington hiring a lawyer was first reported by The Dispatch.

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook