Ned Lamont just activated Connecticut’s “Extreme Hot Weather Protocol” for the coming week.

It was probably anticipated that this week was going to be slow, so Lamont had to drum up some official act to present the illusion of government responsibility.

By using 211ct.org, you can now find local cooling centers in your area!

I already searched for you on 211ct.org and right now they offer 2 whole locations! One in Stamford, and one in Bridgeport.

So if you’re hot and in Hartford you can now drive or bus to the bottom of the state and enjoy air conditioning between the hours of 10:30am and 3:30pm!

Thanks Lamont. Doing god’s work.

But seriously, if you’re hot, just go into a public building – most have air conditioning.

Does Lamont deserve praise for haphazardly throwing together this lazy and empty press opp?

Who knows.

A more important question is: Can I walk around with my shirt off in Connecticut?

Can you go topless in CT and MA?

The answer is basically yes, but probably not if you’re a woman.

The only law you risk violating are both states public indecency laws, or potentially breach of peace laws which are very broad and cover anything that an officer may feel “breaches” the peace.

Having your nips out might “breach” the peace.

But a more realistic approach to this question concerns town ordinances, agency regulations, and how “indecency” is defined.

For example, in Hartford, if you’re a woman and you want to go topless, you need a permit.

That’s right. If you don’t have a permit from the liquor control commission to show off your breasts as a woman then you may get hit with a fine. Also, in the case of female nipple exposure, states consider that sexual in nature so you may get hit with a public indecency charge too because topless women have been sexualized in society.

And that may be unfair, but think of it this way – if you show a child a picture of a topless woman… that will get you on the sex offender list. If you show a child a magazine cover with Logan Paul shirtless… that’s fine.

So, to some degree society considers female nipples different than male nipples.

Although everything in law is context dependent, and I’m sure there are situations in which the exposure of male nipples may be deemed “indecent.”

If a man is in a speedo dancing sexually and caressing his body, that may be considered indecent exposure.

A prosecutor would charge him with indecent exposure and it would be up to the jury to decide if the charge fit the legal standard of being “sexual in nature.”

You’re presumably a person in the community reading this blog, and thus you are qualified to be a potential juror one day – so what do you think? Would you consider a man in a speedo gyrating and caressing himself in public as “sexual in nature”?

What about an old man shirtless gardening on his front lawn?

The law isn’t always black and white, and practically the question of what is indecent or not ultimately leads to a jury.