The new legislative session began in Concord Wednesday morning on a slightly unusual note.
Before voting started, House Speaker Shawn Jasper pleaded with his fellow lawmakers to respect each other - both in and out of the State House.
“I hope that we can realize that when we take off our name badges we are still in fact state representatives, each and every one of us. We can never separate ourselves from that title of honorable,” Jasper told his colleagues.
Jasper was referring to a pair of lawmakers who recently took to social media to criticize a female state representative over her support for public breastfeeding. The bill seeks to make it a misdemeanor to expose your nipple in public, expect when breastfeeding. The spat was later highlighted in a "Huffington Post" article.
One of the lawmakers, Rep. Al Baldasaro of Londonderry, said he stands by his comments. He also said the House Speaker’s remarks were out of line and restricts free speech.
