The Local, an English-language newspaper in Sweden, recently reported that a 45-year-old man avoided a fine for general public peeing. The man from Nacka (a Stockholm suburb) got off because he was discrete and failed to upset, which fulfilled a Stockholm court’s litmus test.
Nacka ruling makes open public peeing acceptable to everyone
Many believe it is totally acceptable to pee in public, as long as a catheter isn’t required to do this, but the majority are worried the law will come in because of public censure. Each individual in Sweden that urinates in general public ends up with an 800 kroner, or $120, fine, records the Metro, a Swedish newspaper. Apparently that wasn’t enough to stop the mass crowd, in 2009, of 5,000 Swedes from publicly reliving themselves.
Anything changes though. It changed because of Sweden’s Nacka ruling. The ruling said that Swedes may not be fined for urinating in public. It has to be an emergency though. So long as the afflicted makes reasonable effort to find a toilet, and barring that avoids blatant public exposure and shields body parts, a Swedish court may allow general public urinators to walk. This could be something really interesting and messy for Swedish law enforcement to deal with. Of course, Spring Break Stockholm people will not mind the change at all. Cops have a hard job. When is it inappropriate? When does restraint become necessary?
‘Intent to offend was lacking’
Judge Annika Johansson decided the Nacka resident’s actions didn’t mean to offend anyone in what was happening. She is a court within the Stockholm district. There weren’t any public toilets within the area where the man was waiting for a bus to come. Eventually he could wait no longer and stationed himself behind the bus stop façade. Evidently he was not intoxicated and conducted himself as discretely as possible under the circumstances.
America should pay attention. It is possible to follow the law with reasonable interpretation. This is proof.
Details from
The Local
thelocal.se/29270/20100927/
Marathoners will come running to get it!
youtube.com/watch?v=8eLU5wYWKd4
