Protest Erupts After New Hampshire Pub Tells Breastfeeding Woman to Holster Her Boobs

Since New Hampshire protects public breastfeeding, it probably came as something of a shock to Hillsborough resident Jane Healy when the wait staff at Tooky Mills Pub (yet more proof that New Hampshire is the land of hobbits at heart) told her to cover up the exposed breast she was using to placate her hungry 10-month-old baby. The request offended Healy so much that she left the pub, and, Wednesday night, participated in a protest outside Tooky Mills meant, she says, “to just raise awareness” about the fact that publicly breastfeeding in New Hampshire is allowed and no awkwardly mumbling waiter can prevent an infant from enjoying a nice meal out of the house.

Healy was pretty offended when the Tooky Mills staff asked her to sheath her breast, so she left because only someone with a reptile hide could enjoy a meal after such a confrontation. Sean Burt, the owner of Tooky Mills, says that, while his staff certainly didn’t mean “to upset or embarrass” Healy, it’s the pub’s responsibility to ensure that none of the Puritan ghosts roaming throughout New Hampshire accidentally see a boob in Tooky Mills and decide to haunt the pub forever.

Breastfeeding in public is protected by law in New Hampshire. Though Healy insists she isn’t using the protest as a means of getting even with Tooky Mills for ruining her night out, she hopes to inform women that the state completely protects their right to breastfeed wherever their nursing infants start bawling for milk.