Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks of Oakland, California wanted to remotely cast her vote on a homelessness bill.
She’d delivered her second child just four weeks prior to the vote, and she was recovering from her c-section.
In the face of the pandemic, Buffy did not want to go into the state Capitol in person. She didn’t want her risk getting her newborn daughter, Elly, sick.
Despite the fact Buffy was on maternity leave, she never expected to be forced to return to the chamber floor; she was refused the right to vote by proxy.
Being so passionate about the bill that would help the homeless population, the exhausted mother had no choice but go to the Capitol.
“I was actually in the middle of feeding my daughter when this bill came up,” Buffy told the assembly chamber. She wore a mask and held her crying, nursing baby girl underneath a protective blanket.
Newborn babies have fragile immune systems, plus there was a recent outbreak in the Senate.
Still, Buffy was told she was not at risk of contracting COVID-19.
Now, the Assembly Speaker Anthony has issued an apology. Watch Buffy address her fellow lawmakers in the clip below, like only a mother can.
Source : https://www.littlethings.com/lawmaker-baby-floor-vote/