Missouri House adopts new dress code for women requiring arm coverings

Missouri House of Representatives proposed the bill on Wednesday that would have restricted the women’s dress code in the state House but would not have tightened the dress code for men, ultimately passing a version of the bill that calls for women to cover their arms.

The dress code was updated from 2021in which women could wear “dresses or skirts or trousers worn with a blazer or sweater and matching shoes or boots”, to now state that appropriate clothing for women in the House it would be “jackets worn with dresses, skirts or trousers, and shoes or boots.”

The legislation was proposed by Representative Ann Kelley (R) and met with stiff opposition from Missouri Democrats in Congress.

State of Missouri Rep. Rachel Proudie (D) called the proposal “ridiculous” as he spoke in the House, adding, “We’re fighting — again — for a woman’s right to choose and this time she’s covering herself,” according to the Heartland Signal.

“Do you know how it feels to have a bunch of men in this room looking at your top trying to decide if it’s appropriate or not?” State Representative Ashley Aune (D) asked the Missouri House floor, according to Heartland Signalbefore I proceed further to criticize the proposal as “ridiculous”.

Bill sponsor State Rep. Ann Kelley (R) responded to Aune, saying, “You’d think all you had to do was say ‘dress professionally’ and women would be able to handle it!” reports the Heartland Signal.

Other Democrats, such as state Rep. Peter Meredith weighed in on Twittercriticizing fellow Republicans, “a caucus that lost its mind at the suggestion that they should wear masks during a pandemic … now spends its time focusing on the finer details of what women must wear (especially how to cover their arms) to show respect here.”

Women make up less than one-third of state legislatures, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch and while the dress code is debated in the House every two years, the men’s dress code was not debated for the 2023 session.

in the end, according to The Washington PostThe Missouri House passed a modified version of the proposal, which allows women to wear blazers, cardigans and jackets, but still requires that their arms be covered.