Forest Park 'Lactivists' Overturn Law Restricting Public Breast-Feeding

A group of Georgia "lactivists" have successfully put the squeeze on a law restricting public breast-feeding.

On Monday night, city council officials in Forest Park, Ga. voted to drop the age limit from a public indecency ordinance that previously outlawed open breast-feeding of children above age two, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The ordinance, passed on May 16, was met with immediate protests from a group of breast-feeding mothers known as "lactivists," contending that the law inhibits a child's right to decide when to be weened off nursing.

On May 23, over 300 women gathered for a "nurse-in" in front of Forest Park City Hall to protest the new law.

City leaders contend that the law was implemented to address public indecency issues.

“It sets up a process whereby we can try to control nudity throughout the entire city,” City Manager John Parker said prior to the repeal.

City attorney Robert Mack Jr. also argued that the ordinance was intended to curb public nudity, not breast-feeding.

Local officials say the law was changed due to public reaction.

“It doesn't matter what age the child is,” protester Dana Gemer told MyFoxAtlanta at the "nurse-in." “It should be the mother's choice, or the child's choice.”

WATCH:

Group Protests Clayton County Breastfeeding Law: MyFoxATLANTA.com

Comments

[Marty Albertsen]

01:03 AM on 06/13/2011

I breast fed both of my kids. That was over 25 years ago. No one should have had to look at my breast while I was feeding the babies. Nor did I want anyone looking at my breast.

I had a very light cotton blanket that I just tossed over my shoulder that covered everything up. It just wasn't that big of a problem to cover up.

It seems there is a certain group of woman that want to make a political point by whipping their breast out to feed junior.

[marind]

10:50 AM on 06/11/2011

Girls Gone Wild on TV. But everyone gets prissy about FEEDING A CHILD.

Get over it. The tit was there to feed children long before society found a way to make money off of it.

[troyrobertdavid]

03:36 PM on 06/10/2011

I have no trouble with women breast feeding in public. I do however also believe that it can be done with a certain amount of modesty.

[Marisa Stein]

08:22 AM on 06/10/2011

that's one ugly baby!

[deputykelley]

02:37 AM on 06/10/2011

I guess if the woman is hot I dont mind :)

[Marty Albertsen]

01:08 AM on 06/13/2011

LOL! Oh funny! You'd look at her breastfeeding her baby even if she wasn't hot and had two heads.

[deputykelley]

02:33 AM on 06/13/2011

It was a joke tuff guy, but youre probably right............

[deputykelley]

02:32 AM on 06/10/2011

Its a natural part of life and there is nothing indecent about it...but, a child thats old enough to walk up to his/her mother and say "im hungry" is probably a little old to be on "the teet". they should be eating chicken strips by then, not breast milk.....

[TheSarge]

09:19 PM on 06/09/2011

Cant I just use the nipple as a binky?

[jacquelinenh]

03:20 PM on 06/09/2011

Good for them. That was nuts.

[Red Russet]

09:39 AM on 06/09/2011

Why stop at 2 years, how about 65?

[neverhome]

09:26 AM on 06/09/2011

“It sets up a process whereby we can try to control nudity throughout the entire city,” City Manager John Parker said prior to the repeal."

Bunch of backwoods hicks.

[dil123]

08:31 AM on 06/09/2011

Lets get real, people who are walking, talking, going to day care (or pre-k 3) and using sippy cups shouldn't be breast feeding. If you want to pump and put the milk in a sippy cup, that's on you, but let's be realistic here. If the kid is potty trained they don't need to be breast fed.

[FaceTheTruth00]

07:59 AM on 06/09/2011

Eh, I'm not seeing the big deal. It's not preventing public feeding; it's restricting the feeding to children under the age of 2.

There's a big difference between a baby who can only drink milk/formula, and a toddler who can and should be eating solid foods. If you ban public feeding on all, a baby goes hungry in public. If you restrict it to under 2, then a toddler can eat solid food - crackers, cereal etc.

Are there seriously children over the age of 2 who are not on solid food?

[FaceTheTruth00]

07:56 AM on 06/09/2011

Eh, if I'm reading the article correctly the law didn't prevent public breastfeeding; it just restricted it to children over the age of 2.

So, are there really toddlers older than 2 that are not eating solid food? That is not healthy.

It's one thing when you have a baby who can only drink milk or formula, but once they are old enough to eat solid food, they should be eating solid food and not relying on breastfeeding.

I can only assume that these people are not feeding their children solid food, otherwise they would be more than able to carry snacks like cereal and crackers with them. A 2, 3 or 4 year old does not HAVE to be breastfed. So, why not let them eat solid food?

[raptureready1958]

12:18 AM on 06/09/2011

These women are nuts. There is a limit to the age of a child, and it should not be done in public.

[neverhome]

09:19 AM on 06/09/2011

Agreed that 2 yrs old is too old for nursing. But there should be no restrictions on breastfeeding in and of itself. Only the most twisted minds could see it as being indecent.

[lippylulu]

11:52 PM on 06/08/2011

This is one of many reasons people from ther countries think we are uptight crazy Americans. I had a friend from another country who couldn't believe women get critisized or arrested for breastfeeding in public. He said "Who would complain about a mother feeding a baby? That's just crazy. These people are perverts who see feeding a baby as indecent. In my country, how else is the baby going to eat?" Truly, if you don't like seeing breastfeeding, look the other way. If you have kids, explain that people choose to feed their babies in different ways. With all the horrible things in this world, why oh why are we grumbling about a natural process that has been around as long as babies have been born!