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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 |
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Breastfeeding mom prepares to have ‘nurse-in'
Published November 15, 2006
SEGUIN — A local mother nursing a grudge against King Ranger Theatre employees’ response to her breast feeding in the lobby last week is making sure Friday night theatergoers know it.
Seguin resident Kimberly Bartholomew has organized a “nurse-in” — a term that takes its cues from the 1960s Civil Rights demonstrations — during which nursing mothers will join her in protest with babies on breast outside the theatre.
“We’re trying to get a policy change and maybe to have the law revamped a little bit to where it’s clear enough that it can be enforced by the police rather than just explained,” Bartholomew said. “We’re trying to make it a better place for nursing mothers so we don’t have to hide under blankets and make our children eat in bathrooms.”
Bartholomew said the trouble started Thursday evening, Nov. 9, when she, her 5-month-old baby, 5-year-old son and the children’s grandmother went to the theater to see the animated children’s movie “Flushed Away.”
While waiting for the movie to start, Bartholomew sat down on a bench inside the theater and continued nursing her infant, who she began feeding while waiting in the ticket line.
“I was minding my own business when I was approached by a female employee who said, ‘Miss, I’m sorry to say you can’t do that here.’”
Bartholomew’s mother pulled out a “license to breast feed” card, which quotes Chapter 165 of the Texas Health and Safety Code about breast feeding in public. Bartholomew said the employee “stormed away” and joined other employees behind the counter, who allegedly gossiped loudly about the inappropriateness of Bartholomew’s behavior.
“At that point, we decided it was best to get a refund and leave,” Bartholomew said.
Theater General Manager Rick Uhlhorn was waiting outside to meet police, who he called because he was unsure of the law. Uhlhorn said he wanted to clarify how the law read without the police entering the building, which could further upset customers.
Upon exiting the theater, Bartholomew saw the police and went over to talk.
The police report said Bartholomew and Uhlhorn were engaged in a verbal argument.
“He basically said ‘anybody can print anything’ [in reference to the card,]” Bartholomew said. “He said our card shouldn’t matter, that If I were going to do that, I should have the common decency to cover up.”
Bartholomew described herself as being mostly covered.
“My shirt came just above my son’s nose,” Bartholomew said. “If you came up to me, you wouldn’t see anything — you could see my rib cage and side. At no point in time was my nipple ever exposed.”
Uhlhorn, however, had a different opinion of Bartholomew’s modesty and version of events.
“The employees said her breast was visible because she had a T-shirt type thing on and she had to pull it up [to breast feed],” Uhlhorn said. “We’ve had people nurse in the lobby before and because they were modest, it was no problem to me. The only reason I even wanted to know about it is because customers were complaining at the concession stand.”
The manager said he never told the customer she had to leave.
“The only thing we ever asked her is ‘would you like a blanket to cover up?’” Uhlhorn said. “Then the grandmother grabbed a fist full of cards out of her purse.”
Specifically, the cards state “A mother is entitled to breast-feed her baby in any location in which the mother is authorized to be.” But the statue, which is taken from Chapter 165.002 of the THSC, can only be enforced on public property, said Seguin Police Department Detective Sgt. Maureen Watson.
“Under Texas Law, breastfeeding in public is legal,” Watson said. “But on private property, people can assert their own standards or moral conduct. If people are offended and complained to the management, the management can ask someone to leave.”
Police will enforce the management’s wishes in “order to keep the peace,” Watson said. Because the incident was resolved without any altercation — the family’s money was returned and they left the theater — no criminal offense was committed. It is not against the law to show the female breast in public, Watson clarified, only parts below the waist.
In response to the nurse-in planned for 7 p.m., Friday, in front of the theater, Watson said the mothers have a right to peaceably assemble and make their beliefs known.
“But they cannot impede the flow of business,” Watson said. “People have to be able to come and go freely. If the demonstration is on [Uhlhorn’s] property and he calls and asks them to be removed, they will have to move or be subject to criminal trespass charges.”
So what does the manager think of the idea of a group of nursing mothers camped out in front of his movie theater? Uhlhorn said they will be treated just like anyone else.
“There’s no loitering outside the theater,” Uhlhorn said. “We’ve had that policy in place for years. If you buy a ticket, you can stay — if you don’t, you have to leave.”
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