Gregg Hennigan, CR Gazette –
The City Council Tuesday night passed a measure intended to make it clearer whether someone has been charged with going to the bathroom in public.
The council voted 6-0 to make public urination and defecation a separate offense in city code from indecent exposure. The two charges have been covered by the same section of the code.
Cody Graham, the University of Iowa Student Government’s liaison to the City Council, asked that they be separated because of reports that prospective employers were confused as to what a student charged under that section of the code had done. That potentially could cost students jobs if employers think they are guilty of the more serious indecent exposure, he said.
An assistant city attorney has questioned whether there was much of a problem, but city staff and council members also said splitting the offenses was a simple solution.
