I know it sounds like a crazy question but is it legal to dress in public. I've read where everyone dress' and goes to the store, and their experiences etc. but is it legal? Can I get arrested for this?
Dressed in public - Is it Legal
I know it sounds like a crazy question but is it legal to dress in public. I've read where everyone dress' and goes to the store, and their experiences etc. but is it legal? Can I get arrested for this?
It's not illegal. It's legal. Though make sure you dress tastefully, then you might run into some problems if you don't.
removed
It's only illegal if your wear a red top with green bottoms - as over here you'd get arrested by the fashion police if you did.
When I landed in Atlanta last year, the first thing I did, as I walked out of the air terminal, was to ask one of your police officers where the taxi stand was - I didn't get arrested. Mind you, with my accent, he was probably trying to work out which planet I came from......
hugs Suzy
Suzy, I wouldn't doubt that.
But yeah, if it were illegal to be dressed in public, upwards of 85% of this forum would be in jail.
just dress to blend, not to stand out. even if you dont entirely pass, if you arent drawing attention to yourself then you shouldnt have anything to worry about.
I think the only real time you may get arrested in public for dressing would be if you went into a department store and was caught going into the girls changerooms (Although I think you would just be kicked out of the store, not arrested)
I like the looks on the fitting room attendants face when I come up with some tops, skirts and dresses and go into the male changeroom, it is priceless
Lots of Love,
Miss Kara
It's legal unless you are arrested by the fashion police or get caught in thre wrong restroom at the wrong time. Just be confident and smile and most folks are ok with it and you. Big Brother hasn't started charging folks with dressing differently - yet.
[SIZE="3"]Brandi[/SIZE]
Love life and find happiness where you can.
I know for a fact you'll get arrested if you're NOT dressed
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Don't get caught wearing Denim in Western PA.Originally Posted by Suzy Harrison
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.................................................. ..........ORCHID
Yes, it's perfectly legal no matter how much you do or don't pass.
I'm not an expert but I believe, as Miss Kara mentioned, that the only time there "might" be a cause for concern is if you were to be in the women's rest room, you got read, and a woman in the rest room gets offended and calls the police .... however you still haven't broken the law (yet) not unless the police officer considers your dressing is a means for you to be a threat and are in some sort of "breach of the peace" or somehow you're deemed to be causing an offense against public order by causing an unnecessary disturbance.
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The River City Gems - Northern California's largest and most active crossdressing & transgender support group!
I think it is in Chicago.
Chickie
New Jersey now has laws protecting gender expressionism & identity and transgenderism. But I bet if you walk down the street in a black sheer teddy, nylons & garters, and 7 inch heels, the cops are going to haul you in for indecent exposure.
Suzy, don't feel bad. Some of the Police officers at the airport here in Atlanta seem to have trouble understanding me! Although I am from the Pacific Northwest, I have lived near Atlanta for 27 years! I do have a very good speaking voice of radio quality. BTW, I love Australian accents!!
Crossdressing is perfectly legal in most of the U.S.A. as long as you are decently covered! I say most of the U.S.A., because there are a few areas that I have not been in! For the 5 years since my wife passed away, I have been going out dressed almost every day. Shopping, eating, going to the P.O., or wherever! The difference is that I never wear a wig or makeup. Just a guy in a skirt or dress!! This will probably jinx me, but in the 5 years I have never had a bad comment made to me. Many compliments on my outfits, or shoes, but no bad ones. I dress to please myself, not the rest of the world. So my attitude is a happy one!!
Stephanie
Lady on the outside, but man underneath!
The only time it is illegal is in some states and cities it is illegal to dress in away to confuse the public from identifying you should you commit a crime. So unless you plan on robbing the local 7-11 in drag so the general public thinks it was a woman who robbed it rather than a man, you will be ok.
Hello Lesi
The only places I've heard of people running into legal trouble with how they are dressed (assuming they are not indecently dressed by Western standards) are certain Middle Eastern countries and one or two in the Far East. It's *not* my intention to be intolerant, but the regimes that regulate dress tend to be based on Islamic principles.
If there are any laws on the books against crossdressing, they aren't usually enforced. In Canada, they are unenforceable, as any judge will strike the law down as unconstitutional without a second thought as long as the individual charged is otherwise behaving properly.
Crossdressing is only illegal when it's used as a disguise in the commission of another crime.
Crossdressing was illegal in Houston until 1980. It was one of the last places to change their law.
It might be illegal if you only wore ladies under garmets and walked around town, other than that as long as you cover yourself tastefully no one seems to care.
Hello Lesi
That's a good question. I have not been out yet but on Saturday the 8th I'm getting educated on some final touches that hopefully will get me out and about. As far as the law. I haven't heard of any law against crossdressing in public so long as the right parts are covered.good luck!!!!
The lonely flower in the desert wearing HEELS
No worries, it is legal. Curiously though, in years past - and not that long ago - it was illegal in many states. I have a friend who was arrested for cross dressing and ended up spending a night in jail over it. That occurred in Colorado in the 70's.
There is a road—no simple highway—between the dawn and the dark of night.
And if you go no one may follow. That path is for your steps alone.
You indirectly raise an important issue: that of jurisdiction. A fair number of the statements in this thread are inaccurate or incomplete because they make implicit claims of world-wide legality when the truth is more complex and depends on the legal jurisdiction.
Sometime, probably 20-ish months ago, I did a thread in which I researched specific legal citations -- and found some places where cross-dressing is illegal, and some places where use of the bathroom that does not correspond to one's legal gender to be illegal. And those were in the USA. Someone else posted a reference to a location in which cross-dressers cannot legally use any gendered bathroom, because there were simultaneously laws against using the other bathroom and laws against using the bathroom that did not correspond to how you were dressed.
Ah yes, recall that "saggy pants laws" have been passed in several parts of the USA; although they claim to be about indecency, some of them have been phrased in terms of clothing that is appropriate to the "modesty" of the person's (legal) sex; I do not recall the exact wording right now, but it was sufficiently vague and had a gender-specific component such that some of the laws could be used to against cross-dressers by way of claiming that dressing up is not "appropriate" clothing.
France and Belgium recently enacted laws against Islamic dress. Quebec recently brought forward a legal interpretation that required women to raise their veils to prove their identity, and which allowed public officials to refuse service to women in veils. France and Quebec are very firm about attempting to "retain their culture". I am not familiar with the reasons for Belgium, but I do know that Belgium has significant internal struggles between the Flemish majority and the French minority in which the Flemish have felt it necessary to enact restrictive laws to "protect" their culture. Strange things happen in politics.
I believe that test cases have been raised in situation in Quebec, but it is difficult as the number of people directly affected is not very large, and many of the people directly affected are apparently people who have no intention of deliberately causing cultural clashes... after all, wearing what you want to (especially with a religious basis) has been generally understood to be a Right in Canada, especially considering the famous cases focusing on the rights of Sikhs to wear turbans and the ceremonial dagger, leading up to the RCMP being forced to change their regulations about uniforms in order to allow Sikhs to serve without having to cut their hair.
But... that was all before. Now, with the anti-terrorism laws, and with the right wing of the Conservatives holding a minority government in Canada, it is no longer a clear legal situation, and controls on wearing what you want (that isn't immodest or a violation of the hate laws) could potentially be deemed to be "demonstrably necessary in a just and free western civilization". The Supreme Court of Canada has not tossed out the anti-terrorism laws, only required the government to modify fairly specific sections of them (e.g., relating to the use of "Security Certificates" for indefinite detainment). The SCC knows that there is significant public and government backlash against "judicial activism" (revoking a law passed by Parliament or passing an order directing the establishment of a new law), and thus treds very carefully when it rules on the validity of laws (as opposed to ruling on facts or jurisdiction or the like.)
The legal position with respect to bathroom use has never been tested by a high court in Canada. No provinces or territories have bathroom laws as such; I do not recall at the moment whether any provinces have gender equality laws. The legal position is apparently that bathroom use would fall under provincial "disturbing the peace" laws in Canada, but due to the lack of law on the matter, bathroom usage can be regulated at the municipal level or via city by-law.Crossdressing is only illegal when it's used as a disguise in the commission of another crime.
Oh yes, in theory a province in Canada could regulate cross-dressing while driving, under the various Highway Traffic Acts. The provinces have the authority, but haven't seen reason to use it yet. The evidence with respect to provincial laws on cell-phone use is that decisions will get made on the basis of fear instead of on the basis of scientific evidence.
[SIZE="1"](The issue for cell phones: scientific evidence shows that the safety of voice calls does not vary meaningfully between hand-held and hands-free calls, that both are notably detrimental to safety -- but the laws have allowed hands-free usage while banning hand-held usage. Why? Because banning hands-free usage as well would be a precedent based upon "distraction" of the driver, which can be very significant for matters such as trying to calm down or control children, and it would be politically impossible to ban "driving while screaming at your kids". That and because banning hands-free sets would be difficult to enforce: you can see someone using a hand-held set, but you have to infer use of a hands-free set based upon mouth motion or the like. The old legal truism: don't make a law that you cannot enforce, especially if the lack of enforcement could be used as a basis to overturn a similar law that you can enforce.)[/SIZE]
While there may be a few jurisdictions which make wearing the clothing of the opposite sex an offense the laws are never enforced. I have never seen a post on this forum about someone being arrested for crossdressing.
There are some Arcane Statutes that still might be on The Books in some isolated places. But, it's been a very long time since A Prosecutor's Office would even think about taking such an Arrest Case. Fear of a Harassment lawsuit, interfering with your Right of Free Speech, (Yes, Virginia sometimes A Dressing Statement can be considered Free Speech) would seem to put The Kibosh on such Shenanigans in The 21st Century. Your local Cops know this, and they have better things to do with their time!
But, you get "tanked up" and get caught driving, or do a disturbance, or in some way Break The Law while your dressed. You will probably go to Jail! Just not cause' your dressed, but because you would be a Felon!
Check your Local Ordinances, but I would be real shocked if you got arrested in Chicago. I know of at least three support groups up there, they all meet regularly, and many of The Members go "Out" after The Meetings. Do they get arrested for Crossdressing? What do you think?
Peace and Love, Joanie
Last edited by sterling12; 05-05-2010 at 01:39 AM.
Then you haven't been following the postings in the Media section about Iran or other parts of the Mid-east.
Not cited before, but how about the 10 arrested in Baharain on New Years? Or 67 arrested last year in Saudia Arabia, or the 17 arrested in 2008 in Dubai
The arrests in Saudia Arabia were reportedly dropped a week later. That article says,
Active arrests last year in Guyana, with it made clear that cross-dressing was the specific offence
Do you still think that "the laws are never enforced" ??
Note: the arrests in Dubai were of foreigners visiting the country, so don't think that it can't happen to you if you visit a place you have not investigated beforehand.
By the way, as long as I am here: cross-dressing has been illegal in Oakland since 1879, and still was as of April 26, 2010.
You can research your own laws and location here...
http://www.hrc.org/issues/gender-ide...ounty-laws.htm
States with Restroom Laws
http://www.hrc.org/issues/workplace/...unity/9602.htm
Transgender Laws for each State
http://www.hrc.org/issues/transgende...ender_laws.asp
Transgender Legislation for each State
http://www.hrc.org/issues/transgende...egislation.asp
Transgender Law and Policy Institute
http://www.transgenderlaw.org/
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