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RIGHT TO BARE ARMS: Who is Ann Kelley? Missouri rep's 'dress code' for women at Capitol sparks outrage

Republican state Rep Ann Kelley, sparked outrage from some Democrats who said the change was 'sexist' because the dress code for men was not altered

JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI: An aggressive fight broke out between members of the Missouri House of Representatives after Ann Kelley proposed a new dress code for women during the session on Wednesday, January 11. The proposal banned women from showing their bare arms and forced them to wear blazers in the chamber.

According to the Daily Mail, the current dress code for women is a dress, skirt or pants worn with a sweater or blazer and shoes or boots. Kelley called for jackets, defined as a blazer or knit blazer and sweater, to be worn over the arms. She stated that it is important to maintain a formal and professional atmosphere at all times. However, Democratic Rep Ashley Aune criticized Kelley for her statement.

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Aune said, "You know what it feels like having a bunch of men in this room trying to decide whether it's appropriate or not?" Kelley countered, "You would think... you would think... you would think that all you would have to do is say dress professionally and women could handle it."

Later, Democrat Representative Raychel Proudie also voiced out her opinion, "There are very serious things in this rule package that I think we should be debating but, instead we are fighting - again - on women's rights to choose something and in this time it is how she covers herself and the interpretation of someone who has no background in fashion." Further, she said, "Again, this is not a shot, it is inappropriate to wear sequins before 5 pm telling me that I cannot wear a crispy good St. John sweater if it has too many buttons.  I spent $1,200 on a suit, and I can't wear it in the People's House because someone who doesn't have the range tells me that's inappropriate."

Peter Meredith, another representative also claimed, "Yep, the caucus that lost their minds over the suggestion that they should wear masks during a pandemic to respect the safety of others is now spending its time focusing on the fine details of what women have to wear (specifically how to cover their arms) to show respect here."

Who is Ann Kelley? 

Ann Kelley is a Missouri congresswoman and a Republican attorney. She serves as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 127th District. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and has been assigned to various committees, including the Committee on Crime Prevention, the Committee on Administration and Accounts, the Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, Ballotpedia reports.

The Republican congresswoman attended Liberal High School in Liberal, Missouri, and then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in middle school science and English from Missouri Southern State College. She later earned her master of science in curriculum and middle school reading and writing from Grand Canyon University, according to Wikipedia. Kelley began her career as a teacher and eventually moved into politics. She is married to a well-known politician, Mike Kelley. Kelley wrote on her Facebook wall about the current issue. "Yes, I had an amendment for our HOUSE rules to modify Rule 98 which talks about how members are supposed to dress in the House Chamber and on the floor during session. I have had lots of hateful calls, emails and messages in regards to this amendment, which is funny because we already have a dress code all I was doing was fixing the errors and clarifying the rule."

Further, she stated, "Every business is in charge of their protocols and rules, when you run a meeting there are rules that must be followed. Before the House can begin their work, rules must be adopted. This was something that the Chief Clerk, who is in charge of decorum has requested for many years to get fixed in our rules. Now, it has been fixed. Any time a bill is brought to the house floor, anyone has an opportunity to add an amendment and then that amendment is voted on by the whole body. There were over 15 amendments that were filed and less than five made it on the rules package, one of which was mine. I spoke less than 5 minutes introducing my amendment, so time, I did not waste anyone’s time." 

The republican representative also added, "Spending 5 minutes to fix a grammatical error in the rule book of the MO House of Representatives, in my mind is not a waste of time. How is encouraging professionalism wrong? If there is ever a time to honor traditions and be professional it is on the House Chamber Floor in the Missouri House of Representatives; I will not apologize for standing up for these things. The Democrats that stood up and spoke against my amendment were the ones that wasted time, especially since most of the things were said was not even in the amendment and taken out of context." 

Kelley also claimed, "In addition, most people do not realize that until the rules are passed there is absolutely nothing to do because we do not have committees. Once the rules passed on Wednesday, the speaker announced the committee assignments for the 102nd general assembly. Next week, committees will start organizing and meeting and the speaker will begin sending bills to committees. My amendment increased 30 minutes of debate on the house floor and was added to the bill, so the majority believed that it needed to be changed. "

Further, she added, "Whereas the majority of the amendments filed and brought up did not make it on the bill and took up more time then my single amendment.

It amazes me that the people who are reaching out are so worried about me wasting the state’s time; even though we are there no matter what. And then they waste their time by reaching out to me and cussing at me. I have wasted so much time reading and their hateful messages. I was working in my office on a bipartisan monthly activity and had to stop frequently to answer my phone only to get cussed at. Wasting time, that is funny!!."