Kathleen,
Several years ago, a my local rep asked me if I thought it would be a good
idea if he introduced a bill to protect a woman's right to bf in public. I
helped to rally support from health care agencies and bf advocates. It sure
seemed like a "no-brainer". We got the same kind of responses you did. Why
would we need such a law, it was silly, etc. Legislators were completely
oblivious to the issues of nursing in public and didn't really care. The bill
died in committee. Two years later it was reintroduced by a different
legislator after a very public incident in which a mom was harrassed. It
passed easily. (Another bill to fund peer counseling got no support). The
bill passed in part b/c the legislator who took it on worked hard to get
co-sponsors. Now, I know this is different, b/c there is money opposing the
gift pack law, but not nursing in public laws. The point is that bills like
this rarely get much more than a cursory glance the first time
around--persistence is key. You need to build a strong base of support within
the legislature and the community. People have to care about it and they have
to personally tell their own reps. Most proposed legislation gets very little
public attention--public attention, however, gets legislators' attention.
    Please don't give up on this. It truly helps to not take it personally.
Recently, in our state, a bill was introduced to strictly control
homeschoolers--we live in a very free state where educating our children is
concerned. We had 1000 people turn up with 4 days' notice (hundreds signed up
to speak--only about 20 were able to after waiting many, many hours with all
of our children!) and we sent thousands of emails and letters to
legislators--the bill was killed. People who vote matter a lot--you need a
lot of them next time.
    I personally like living in a paradigm where breastfeeding is normal and
find it very difficult to get the slap in the face that mainstream society
has to offer. But, if mainstream society doesn't "get it", nothing will
really change. So, try again--prepare more and then try again. You can
succeed. Personally, I think we should introduce such a law in every single
state next year--once a single state does it, you have the much-beloved
"precedent" behind you.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA

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