Breastfeeding mom harassed at McDonald's in Berea, KY

[rachelmarie]

Article

A Berea woman called the police Wednesday after she was asked to leave a McDonald's restaurant because she was breast-feeding her 4-month-old.

Jessica Denny thought the police would enforce a Kentucky law that forbids interfering with a mother breast-feeding in public. Instead, the Berea police officer told her she would be charged with criminal trespass if she didn't leave.

At least it says the franchise owner apologized for the manager's actions.

[CheapPearls]

Sadly, she was asked for leave for the wrong reason but the officers did their jobs. for her for standing up for her rights though. I wonder what will come of this.

[clutterbug]

Does anyone have the wording of that law? Cause I don't understand how the breastfeeding law and the trespassing law are possibly compatible...? You can't interfere with breastfeeding, but you can ask a breastfeeding woman to leave your place of business or else she can be charged with trespassing??

[homewithtwinsmama]

Mamajake has been trying to explain that to folks here for years. Most of these laws are completely useless because the business owner can simply revoke your right to be there. Only laws with actual provisions for enforcement work. This looks like it might be another case of a too ambiguous law.

[clutterbug]

Originally Posted by homewithtwinsmama

Mamajake has been trying to explain that to folks here for years. Most of these laws are completely useless because the business owner can simply revoke your right to be there. Only laws with actual provisions for enforcement work. This looks like it might be another case of a too ambiguous law.

well, that is frustrating

[aaronsmom]

Originally Posted by bluepetals

Does anyone have the wording of that law? Cause I don't understand how the breastfeeding law and the trespassing law are possibly compatible...? You can't interfere with breastfeeding, but you can ask a breastfeeding woman to leave your place of business or else she can be charged with trespassing??

Kentucky breastfeeding laws:

211.755 Breast-feeding permitted -- Municipal ordinances not to prohibit or restrict -- Interference prohibited.
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, a mother may breast-feed her baby or express breast milk in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be. Breast-feeding a child or expressing breast milk as part of breast-feeding shall not be considered an act of public indecency and shall not be considered indecent exposure, sexual conduct, lewd touching, or obscenity.
(2) A municipality may not enact an ordinance that prohibits or restricts a mother breast-feeding a child or expressing breast milk in a public or private location where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be. In a municipal ordinance, indecent exposure, sexual conduct, lewd touching, obscenity, and similar terms do not include the act of a mother breast-feeding a child in a public or private location where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be.
(3) No person shall interfere with a mother breast-feeding her child in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be.
Effective: July 12, 2006
History: Created 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 80, sec. 1, effective July 12, 2006

So, what I'm taking from this is that if you are already authorized to be there, you can't be "unauthorized" for breastfeeding, kwim? You'd have to be doing something apart from breastfeeding to be deemed unauthorized to remain at said location. So, you can't just be kicked out FOR bf'ing and then someone be like, "Well, she was no longer authorized to be here."

[littlest birds]

I just saw this article about this--I live in Berea and this made the front page of the Lexington paper!

I thought the article was good, that the mom was able to make good points about bfing and not covering up and wanting the business to put up a pro-bf sign.

Of course I was also sort of ashamed on my town's behalf that the woman was asked not only to stop or move but to LEAVE. And the police did make her leave. Usually when I hear about this it stays verbal and doesn't actually involve police, YK. Wow. Even if they acknowledged that they were in the wrong later, this is pretty bad.

[littlest birds]

Originally Posted by aaronsmom

Kentucky breastfeeding laws:



So, what I'm taking from this is that if you are already authorized to be there, you can't be "unauthorized" for breastfeeding, kwim? You'd have to be doing something apart from breastfeeding to be deemed unauthorized to remain at said location. So, you can't just be kicked out FOR bf'ing and then someone be like, "Well, she was no longer authorized to be here."

I think it was because they were arguing loudly about it, so she asked her to leave. Still, the harassment exists, and IIRC the article was saying there is a protective law but not really penalties for breaking it. I don't understand totally but I think the police were not there about bfing? She wasn't bfing but was in a loud argument at that time so was asked to leave?

[MsHiss]

According to the article, http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/482335.html , the nursing mom called the police to enforce the breastfeeding protection and was then asked to leave. Its infuriating! There should be some penalty for the business interferring.

Clearly, the law needs to be revised to add some incentive for compliance. I think the articles suggestion of a fine for interference is a good one and I plan to contact my state Rep. and Sen. and several others to lobby for the change.

Is there any LLL or anyone else planning anything in Berea? or any kind of response?

[aaronsmom]

Yeah, I believe someone was quoted in the article as saying that lawmakers should add a 1000-2000 dollar fine to the law for those that harrass nursing moms.

[treehuggermama]

Why is it legal to put up half naked billboards of women all across the country but a nursing mom can be escorted out of a restaurant? Could she potentially sue McDonald's for that? I was just thinking of the Delta airlines case several months back...

[mamajake]

Originally Posted by aaronsmom

Kentucky breastfeeding laws:



So, what I'm taking from this is that if you are already authorized to be there, you can't be "unauthorized" for breastfeeding, kwim? You'd have to be doing something apart from breastfeeding to be deemed unauthorized to remain at said location. So, you can't just be kicked out FOR bf'ing and then someone be like, "Well, she was no longer authorized to be here."

Not necessarily. "Authorization" is presumed because it is a public accommodation. Everyone gets to walk in the door. However, the owner can withdraw authorization to be in the space for any reason that does not violate another law (race, sex, etc.) and few public breastfeeding laws prevent the withdrawal of authorization. As Homewithtwinsmama wrote ( hi ) this has been making me crazy for years.

Now Kentucky law begins "notwithstanding any other provision of law" which I would argue makes a trespass arrest unlawful - this proviso says "this breastfeeding law trumps other applicable law." So had mom been arrested for and charged with trespass, and were I her defense lawyer, I would argue that she could not be charged with trespass because of this part of Kentucky law (remember not all state public breastfeeding laws begin that way, so trespass is a real risk in many other states). However, I don't know of any case that went that far because the mothers have stopped breastfeeding rather than be arrested (as would I were I alone with my baby). And these statements in the press by the police and mayor that the trespass arrest would have been valid are very disturbing. This could very well take a court to decide which law governs.

So how will we ever know how this Kentucky law can protect a harassed mother? Because there is no penalty for violating the public breastfeeding law in Kentucky (or most places) and therefore no way to get the case before a judge, there will be no official interpretation of how the law should be applied. And of course no penalty for anyone who violates the law.

[Koloe]

Originally Posted by mamajake

Not necessarily. "Authorization" is presumed because it is a public accommodation. Everyone gets to walk in the door. However, the owner can withdraw authorization to be in the space for any reason that does not violate another law (race, sex, etc.) and few public breastfeeding laws prevent the withdrawal of authorization. As Homewithtwinsmama wrote ( hi ) this has been making me crazy for years.

Now Kentucky law begins "notwithstanding any other provision of law" which I would argue makes a trespass arrest unlawful - this proviso says "this breastfeeding law trumps other applicable law." So had mom been arrested for and charged with trespass, and were I her defense lawyer, I would argue that she could not be charged with trespass because of this part of Kentucky law (remember not all state public breastfeeding laws begin that way, so trespass is a real risk in many other states). However, I don't know of any case that went that far because the mothers have stopped breastfeeding rather than be arrested (as would I were I alone with my baby). And these statements in the press by the police and mayor that the trespass arrest would have been valid are very disturbing. This could very well take a court to decide which law governs.
(

If this is the case, couldn't the police also be punished then for harassing the BF mother and denying her the right to feed her child? They basically supported the person who was telling her to stop instead of upholding the law that says that no one - not even themselves - can tell a woman to stop nursing. Supposedly they told her to leave because management told her to leave, but if management told her to leave because she was nursing and refused to stop, then they were breaking the law and the police were also breaking the law were they not?

[mamajake]

Originally Posted by Koloe

If this is the case, couldn't the police also be punished then for harassing the BF mother and denying her the right to feed her child? They basically supported the person who was telling her to stop instead of upholding the law that says that no one - not even themselves - can tell a woman to stop nursing. Supposedly they told her to leave because management told her to leave, but if management told her to leave because she was nursing and refused to stop, then they were breaking the law and the police were also breaking the law were they not?

Even assuming everyone was breaking the law, it is a law that carries no penalty for breaking it. A proper law says clearly "you must do or not do X" and then says "if you fail to do or not do X, you are punished in the following way." Most public breastfeeding law, like Kentucky, does the first, but not the second. No one can be punished for breaking a law that has no penalty for breaking it.

As for the police, remember they enforce criminal law and not civil law. For the police to enforce a public breastfeeding law, it has to be in the crimes code. There are few places where asking a woman to stop breastfeeding is a crime. My understanding is the police were there to enforce the criminal law concerning trespass.

[Otterella]

So proud to live in Kentucky.

Last year it was an Applebees in Lexington, this year it's a McDonalds in Berea. Makes me so proud of my state.


NOT!

[goodheartedmama]

Originally Posted by Otterella

Last year it was an Applebees in Lexington, this year it's a McDonalds in Berea. Makes me so proud of my state.


NOT!

:

[white_queen_22]

I was just coming here to see if this was being discussed yet.

So much for "family friendly atmosphere" eh?

Angela <><

[Koloe]

Originally Posted by mamajake

As for the police, remember they enforce criminal law and not civil law. For the police to enforce a public breastfeeding law, it has to be in the crimes code.

I do believe they are suppose to enforce all laws. Not that they do. Of course, I suspect most of them have no idea what half the laws are, as there are so very many of them.

[mamajake]

Originally Posted by Koloe

I do believe they are suppose to enforce all laws. Not that they do. Of course, I suspect most of them have no idea what half the laws are, as there are so very many of them.

With respect, no police are not supposed to enforce all laws.

[SAHDS]

Originally Posted by mamajake

As for the police, remember they enforce criminal law and not civil law. For the police to enforce a public breastfeeding law, it has to be in the crimes code. There are few places where asking a woman to stop breastfeeding is a crime. My understanding is the police were there to enforce the criminal law concerning trespass.

Exactly. Since the BFing is a civil matter, the mother would have to personally sue McDonalds. The criminal matter (trespassing) is the one the police were there to handle.