Boobs on Bikes ruling not embraced by all

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Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:00a.m.

An Auckland District Court judge has cleared the way for the Boobs on Bikes parade to go ahead tomorrow, by refusing to grant an injunction to stop it.

The Auckland City Council had applied for the injunction, but the judge was not satisfied that the parade breached the legal threshold of offensiveness.

"The attitude of the police, the lack of any public disorder on any previous occasions and the fact that 80,000 to 100,000 people have voted with their feet and watched the parade leads me to the view is uncertain and/or unreasonable in the way it refers to offensive," Judge Nicola Mathers said.

Family First are disappointed with the ruling and say that the court's decision is a disgrace.

"We have deemed in our legal system that the right of the pornography industry to advertise on a main street is more important than the right of families to be protected," Bob McCoskrie says.

However the parade's organiser, Steve Crow, says the decision is a victory for freedom of expression and he is now planning his own legal action to challenge the council's bylaw.

"I'm sick of fighting this every year when I believe it is a right," Steve Crow says. "So let's do it once and for all. We will go to court, we will drag it all through the courts. They can spend their money, I'll spend my money."

Mr Crow says councillor Cathy Casey better have a council permit if she goes through with her threat to physically block the parade, otherwise he will take her to court.

"She came after me and she can't have double standards," Mr Crow says. "If she wants to live by the sword she can die by the sword."

Councillor Casey left court telling reporters she was extremely disappointed by the court's decision. However she would not confirm whether she will go ahead with her protest.

Police have confirmed that they will be at the parade tomorrow - but only to ensure public safety, not to stop the parade.

Even though Steve Crow does not have a permit for the parade, police do not have the power of arrest for breaching a council bylaw.

The only penalty Mr Crow would face is a $1000 fine from the council. Mr Crow says that given the parade creates over a $100,000 in publicity, that is not a lot of money.

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Comments

19 Aug 2008 07:48p.m.

Sarah wrote:

Well. I consider this the epitome of degradation towards women. I mean, I've often blamed the media for the fact that women don't get the same respect as men, and are just seen as sexual objects, and I still believe they're a large part of the problem. But the blame cannot be entirely be attributed to the media, when, in fact, women are doing this to themselves. And to the rest of us, who are actually effected by their superficial actions.

I mean, if they were baring themselves as an expression of free will, or as a feminist statement, I wouldn't care to the extent that I do here. But, as it happens, they're doing it to promote an erotica expo. The ultimate expression of sexual objectification!

You may argue that this is setting a double standard, but it is not. The motivations behind what people do is what matters, and always have been. That's why people are allowed to get away with murder, if it's in "self defense".

Ironic that a man is organizing this, no?

Despicable.