Background

For those unfamiliar with Tennessee's breastfeeding laws, here is what they say:

Currently, Tennessee law permits a mother breastfeed her child who is twelve (12) months of age or younger in any location, public or private, where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be present; specifies that the act of breastfeeding shall not be considered public indecency or nudity, obscene, or sexual conduct; and states that local governments shall not prohibit breastfeeding in public by local ordinance (T.C.A. 68-58-101; T.C.A. 68-58-102; T.C.A. 68-58-103).

At this time, Tennessee is the only state with an age limit for nursing in public. Since the middle of 2010, a few mothers have been e-mailing and contacting members of Tennessee's General Assembly in order to have the law amended.

In January, SB0083/HB0871 was introduced that would eliminate the 12-month age restriction. Since the bill was introduced, we have been asking people to contact their legislators to ask for their support and have gotten good results. According to one of the bill's sponsors, Sen. Mike Faulk, there has been little negative feedback on the bill.

If you would like to contact your legislator, you can find his or her contact information on the General Assembly's web site at http://capitol.tn.gov/.