To all Mothers:
I want to get my story out to everyone somehow. I can't bear to let the officer who violated my civil rights get away with no justice done. I'm a single mother, 23 years old, with an 8 week old son. Today, October 13th, 2009, I was in the Courthouse Annex in Shalimar, FL. I was authorized to be in Courtroom C at 1 PM.
My son was hungry, and I decided to feed him. I was very discreet - I layer two shirts so I'm able to breastfeed in public discreetly, showing no skin what so ever. Not that it matters, because in Florida, I can show skin if I please. An officer in the court room approached me, and told me that what I was doing was inappropriate and that it wasn't allowed in public. Before I got a chance to say anything, he yelled and demanded I take my son to a dirty public bathroom to feed him. So not only were my rights as a mother violated - my son's rights to eat were, too. Not to mention that I was authorized to be in the court room, and the officer forced me out of a place I belonged. I wasn't sure if I should burst into tears or argue my case. I got up, crying, and took my hungry, fussy baby out of the court room.
Before I left, I stopped by the Sheriff's station at the court house. I talked to an officer, and he was outraged and shocked that another cop would dare say such a thing and hurt me intentionally without doing ANYTHING illegal. All they did was take my name and phone number, and tell me that the cop who approached me and made me stop feeding my child, would get a "talking to."
There are no laws in the US forbidding breastfeeding outside of the home, and only two states in which laws place any limitation on the way in which public breastfeeding may be done, those states being Illinois and Missouri. I live in Florida.
This isn't just about me being able to breastfeed peacefully in public, but also about not allowing people who are to enforce and uphold the law breaking the law and violating you and your child's rights.
The 2009 Florida Statutes says:
“ 383.015 Breastfeeding.--The breastfeeding of a baby is an important and basic act of nurture which must be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child health and family values, and in furtherance of this goal:
(1) A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother's breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breastfeeding. “
I live in Pensacola, but the situation took place in Shalimar. I would love to talk to someone about my story and get this out there. There was a bottle feeding mother also feeding her child but only I, as a breastfeeding mother was asked to leave. I was discriminated against, my rights violated, and state law was broken too.
Please help me get my story into the media.
I want to get my story out to everyone somehow. I can't bear to let the officer who violated my civil rights get away with no justice done. I'm a single mother, 23 years old, with an 8 week old son. Today, October 13th, 2009, I was in the Courthouse Annex in Shalimar, FL. I was authorized to be in Courtroom C at 1 PM.
My son was hungry, and I decided to feed him. I was very discreet - I layer two shirts so I'm able to breastfeed in public discreetly, showing no skin what so ever. Not that it matters, because in Florida, I can show skin if I please. An officer in the court room approached me, and told me that what I was doing was inappropriate and that it wasn't allowed in public. Before I got a chance to say anything, he yelled and demanded I take my son to a dirty public bathroom to feed him. So not only were my rights as a mother violated - my son's rights to eat were, too. Not to mention that I was authorized to be in the court room, and the officer forced me out of a place I belonged. I wasn't sure if I should burst into tears or argue my case. I got up, crying, and took my hungry, fussy baby out of the court room.
Before I left, I stopped by the Sheriff's station at the court house. I talked to an officer, and he was outraged and shocked that another cop would dare say such a thing and hurt me intentionally without doing ANYTHING illegal. All they did was take my name and phone number, and tell me that the cop who approached me and made me stop feeding my child, would get a "talking to."
There are no laws in the US forbidding breastfeeding outside of the home, and only two states in which laws place any limitation on the way in which public breastfeeding may be done, those states being Illinois and Missouri. I live in Florida.
This isn't just about me being able to breastfeed peacefully in public, but also about not allowing people who are to enforce and uphold the law breaking the law and violating you and your child's rights.
The 2009 Florida Statutes says:
“ 383.015 Breastfeeding.--The breastfeeding of a baby is an important and basic act of nurture which must be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child health and family values, and in furtherance of this goal:
(1) A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother's breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breastfeeding. “
I live in Pensacola, but the situation took place in Shalimar. I would love to talk to someone about my story and get this out there. There was a bottle feeding mother also feeding her child but only I, as a breastfeeding mother was asked to leave. I was discriminated against, my rights violated, and state law was broken too.
Please help me get my story into the media.
