Tomorrow at 2:00 pm, Seattle City Council member Bruce Harrell, chair of the council's civil rights committee, will introduce legislation to protect a mother’s right to breastfeed her child(s) in public.

That might sound redundant, considering that breast feeding is already totally legal in public. Nursing mothers are a protected class in Washington State, free (nay, encouraged!) to whip out their boobs and deliver sustenance unto the squalling mouths of our newest generation whenever and wherever fancy strikes them—restaurants, swimming pools, airports, movie theaters, the DOV, art museums, doctors' offices, concerts, libraries, buses, and parks—and no one can tell a mother to leave or cover herself.

But apparently, most people aren't aware of that law.

Because even though state legislators passed anti-discrimination legislation to protect breastfeeding mothers in 2009 (look, wallet cards!), women are still (illegally) being told to cover up or leave restaurants, swimming pools, airports, movie theaters, the DOV, art museums, doctors' offices, concerts, libraries, buses, and parks for breastfeeding their infants in public.

Total bullshit, right?

What's worse is that many mothers don't know about their rights or who to complain to when those rights are infringed upon (either that, or they feel too humiliated to press the issue).

The watchdog for this law—the Washington Human Rights Commission (WHRC)—reports that it has only received three complaints from harassed nursing mothers since the state legislation was enacted. And, due to budget cuts, the WHRC doesn't have a Seattle office (which complicates the complaint process). Locally, the Seattle Women's Commission has been working to educate mothers and business owners for years—which is where Harrell's legislation comes in.

Harrell's bill focuses on generating local education about the law, as well as beefing up enforcement by allowing harassed breastfeeding mothers to file discrimination charges with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights. If found guilty of discrimination, the offending business owner or employee could then be executed.

JK! They'd probably receive a fine or finger wag or something.