Re the Delaware legislation:

Apparently there is some legal distinction between making bf in public a
civil right versus making it explicitly not a criminal act.

We have a law in NC, in the indecent exposure statutes, that says a woman
has the right to bf in any public or private location where she has the
right to be, even if the nipple is exposed during or incidental to bf.

BUT: last summer we had an incident in a nearby city  where a nursing
mother was asked to leave a restaurant (and did).

Some time later, we were discussing this incident at an LLL meeting with a
mother who is also a lawyer. What she said is: the NC law makes it explicit
that bf is not a crime (i.e., indecent exposure), but that is not the same
as making it a civil right (as has been done in New York). So by this I
gather that the restaurant owner could not have the woman arrested, but it
was legally OK for him to make her leave.

I'm no lawyer and am reporting this as best I can remember the
conversation, so hope I'm getting the facts right. Any of you out there
with legal expertise, can you add to this?

The NY law is NY Senate Bill 3999-A, 1994.
The NC law is NC Ge. Statute section 14-190.0, 1993.

I don't know the exact wording of each, but maybe the main difference is
where it appears in the books (under civil rights act vs. under indecent
exposure laws)?

With regards,

  Betty Meeler
  [log in to unmask]
  Durham, NC