It's Time! We Need You Now!

The picture below is from a screen grab of an email I wrote to my friend almost seven years ago, after we went to the Capitol together with other mothers and advocates to legislators in support of Rep. Farrar's second filing of her bill to strengthen the NIP law.

SEVEN years ago. 

And the bill still has no enforcement. 

It has been filed every session since, & each time it has failed. No more. It's time to get this bill passed, y'all. 

Our right to breastfeed our babies wherever we are authorized to be is routinely violated. And a law that is flouted with impunity is one which needs strengthening. Otherwise, what is the point of anything our legislators do?

I was so anxious that first time I went to advocate for mothers and babies. As an introvert, I was completely out of my element. I'm still an introvert, but now I know that when I'm telling lawmakers that they need to take responsibility for supporting mothers and babies through policy - I am IN my element. 

But we need y'all there with Texas Breastfeeding Coalition. Please join us for some or all of the TXBC Fall Meeting & Legislative Action Days this month.

tinyurl.com/TXBCFall14

In anticipation of the start of the 84th legislative session, we are meeting with legislators this month, and we need people (whether you're a TXBC member or not) in attendance from all over this huge state. Legislators are most interested in that which their constituents care about, so we need a lot of involvement for our 31 large Senate districts and our 150 Representative districts. There will be training before you meet with legislators/staffers, and efforts will be made to pair people together for meetings, so the meetings won't be as intimidating as they may sound!

The TXBC Fall Meeting and Legislative Action Days are just a week and a half away now, on Nov. 17 & 18. To register for the meeting, click here.

There is a downloadable flyer on the Fall Meeting page of the website if you want to share meeting information with other breastfeeding advocates. You can also help to promote the event by inviting friends on Facebook.

If you are only able to attend Day 2 (Tuesday, Nov. 18) of the meeting, there will be no registration fee for Day 2 only attendance. To register for Day 2 only, please complete this two-question survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RTSNPQF

This meeting will be held in the Banquet Room of the Capitol Grill (E1.002) at the state Capitol in Austin. There is limited power, so bring your electronic devices fully charged.

In addition to our legislative agenda, the meeting will include TXBC business, an ethics E CERP and a screening of the incredible documentary, The Milky Way.

If you need to bring your baby/child, that's perfectly alright! If they become distracting, you'll be able to step out into the cafeteria or even stroll around the Capitol to settle them, & then rejoin the meeting! If you are interested in child care, that is something we may be able to arrange for. Email txbfleg@gmail.com with "Child Care" in the subject so we can gauge interest.

If you are unable to attend, please visit the lege page of our website at TXBFLeg.com for a menu of ways to support pro-breastfeeding legislation.

See the flyer on the website for more details, and please register or complete the survey as soon as you are able, to facilitate appointment making.