DETROIT, Michigan - December 7, 2009 - While Mary Martinez was shopping in a Target store in Harper Woods, Michigan, her 4-week-old baby got hungry; and because some people still haven't gotten it through their heads that women often use their own breasts to feed hungry babies, a security guard who saw her doing just that told her she had to leave because she was breaking the law. Which she was not. Target mistake No. 1.

When Martinez and her husband, Jose - a police officer who knew full well that his wife wasn't doing anything illegal - refused to leave, the security guard called the cops. Target mistake No. 2.

Although the local officers who arrived confirmed that it is not against the law to breast-feed in public in Harper Woods, Mary Martinez says she felt humiliated and forced out of the store anyway. "Two security guards, the manager or team leader, two officers, they just made a spectacle and a scene. I feel like I can't go to that specific Target anymore."

Now Target mistakes 1 and 2 can be written off as poor judgment by individual employees, but mistake No. 3 is the real eye-popper: When contacted by Detroit's Fox affiliate, Target's corporate headquarters said that breast-feeding is allowed in their stores, but "This specific situation escalated to a point where we were concerned for the safety of our guests, so law enforcement was called."

Are you kidding me? How on earth does feeding a baby escalate to a safety issue for other customers? Target's corporate spokesperson does understand that when you give a quote to a media outlet, other people will end up hearing it, and that words have meaning.

Call and voice your feelings about this assault on a nursing mother.

Target - Harper Woods, Michigan
Store Manager Mr. Vincent
313-371-9751