Breast feeding has not always been readily welcomed in public.

In April 2000, a row over breast feeding broke out in the House of Commons, where MPS who wished to nurse their children were "directed to the Lady Members Room or the disabled lavatory off the Lower Waiting Hall" (The Economist, April 22, 2000).

In February 2002, a painting by Shawn Dell Joyce of Montgomery, New York was removed from Stewart International Airport in Orange County, New York - part of a "series about human interactions with natural elements" consisting of "four panels: mountain scene, children praying, two people in a boat and a nursing infant."

This sparked a protest of "40 stroller-wheeling moms outside the airport terminal, waving photographs of breasts and babies at passengers and onlookers for nearly two hours.

...[During the protest], a few men and women did avert their eyes from the nursing mothers and walk on. But others stopped to voice their support. Sydney James Chiswell, 53, a real estate consultant from Charlottesville, Va., said that Ms. Joyce's painting should be displayed at the airport even if it offended some people.

'The problem we have as a culture is that we've driven political correctness to such a degree that we overlook the obvious - and the obvious is that it's art,' he said. 'It makes me wonder what the censors would have said about Adam and Eve.'

As Mr. Chiswell rolled his suitcase away, he called out to the nursing mothers: 'Hey, I'm a breast-fed baby. Look at the success!'" (Winnie Hu, The New York Times, February 28, 2002).

In November 2003, "45 nursing mothers cradling their newborns, demonstrated their solidarity by publicly nursing their children on the sales floor," after a customer "was asked by a store employee to leave the children's section and resume feeding her newborn in the ladies'room" at a Washington, D.C. Barnes and Noble.

According to event organizer Alli Gersh, the demonstration was a smashing success, especially when "'the manager finally came out and explained that the employee made a mistake and that, in fact, breast-feeding is permitted in every part of the Barnes & Noble store.'" (Anne Schroeder, The Washington Post, November 4, 2003)

In June 2004, Suzy Stone was on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall eating at Atomic Burrito (on 2nd st.) and was told by a co-manager that nursing her 6 mo. old was inappropriate to do in the restaurant.

Suzy says, "When I told him how offended I was he got very rude, I asked for my money back which he threw on the counter and I had to pack up my children and leave. I told him as I was leaving that I was going to tell everyone I knew that his restaurant did not allow nursing and he said "Go ahead" (electronic mail, June 3, 2004).

Within 48 hours a demonstration was organized on the mall catacorner to Atomic Burrito, which included approximately 40 adults with an equal number of children in tow.

By the time of the demonstration, Atomic Burrito had issued the following statement:

Atomic Burrito strongly supports the rights of mothers and families. Furthermore, Atomic Burrito unconditionally supports the rights of mothers to breast feed within the restaurant specifically and in public generally. Atomic Burrito does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, age or familial status (Statement of Policy, June 4, 2004).

Just when I thought we were at risk of losing our No. 1 city status.

Please send your thoughts about breast feeding in public to george@loper.org where the most representative comments will be placed on my web site with full attribution.