Women in the Missouri House of Representatives called “ridiculous” an amendment this week that limits how they can wear it.
The dress code amendment, proposed by state Rep. Ann Kelley (R), would require women to wear jackets, which include “blazers and knit blazers,” with their outfits.
The amendment was adopted Wednesday as the state House debated its rules, an act they usually pursue every two years at the start of a new General Assembly, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Missouri Rep. Ashley Aune (D) slammed Kelley over his support for the amendment before the two sparred on the floor of the Missouri House.
“Do you know what it feels like to have so many people in this room looking over you trying to decide if it’s appropriate or not? … This is ridiculous,” said Aune.
“Lady, you’re right, it’s ridiculous, it’s absolutely absurd that we even have to talk about it on the House floor,” Kelley snapped back.
“Then why did you do it? … I agree, why raise it?” answered Aune.
Rep. State Democrat Raychel Proudie also criticized Missouri House Republicans over the amendment in an impassioned speech.
“There is something in this legislative package that I think we have to debate, but we fight again, for the right of a woman to choose something, and this time how she covers herself,” Proudie said.
The lawmaker later asked why he couldn’t wear the $1,200 suit he bought for himself because the “out-of-reach guy” said the cut didn’t fit.
“These people need to stop playing on the taxpayers dime with this nonsense, frankly,” Proudie tweeted.
Rep. Brenda Shields (R) said the amendment was meant to clean up dress code language, according to the Post-Dispatch.
The dress code previously defined “proper” women’s clothing as “dresses or skirts or trousers with a blazer or sweater and matching shoes or boots.”
Women represent less than a third of the members of the Missouri House.
The controversial amendment has also raised concerns among some in the state House, according to USA Today.
“I hope we can loosen this and allow people to wear what makes them comfortable and professional and respectful,” said Rep. Peter Merideth (D), who called the amendment “a very dangerous road for all of us to go down.”
Kelley, in a statement on her Facebook page, said she received “many phone calls, emails and hateful messages” about the amendment and said the proposed change was to remove the dress code.
“Before the DPR can start its work, rules must be adopted. This is something that the Chief Clerk, who is responsible for decency, has requested for many years to be regulated in our rules. It has now been fixed,” he wrote.
The Republican added that he spoke for less than five minutes to fix a “grammatical error” in the rule, and that he thought he didn’t waste time.
“How to encourage professionalism is wrong? If there is a time to respect tradition and be professional, it is in the House … I will not apologize for standing up for that,” said Kelley.