Dress Code Senator Apologizes January 26, 2016

(AP) – Republican Sen. Mitch Holmes has seen women wearing “over the top” attire during his decade in the Kansas Statehouse, by which he means, their tops didn’t cover over enough.
“A blouse that came way past the rib cage was one of the most outlandish ones,” he told The Associated Press in an interview on Monday. He said his dress code was needed to prevent distractions from the legislative process.
But after he was shamed on social media as a “sexist” and “cave man” for telling women how to dress, Holmes dropped his guidelines the next day. His written apology Tuesday said he “meant no offense” by suggesting that “for ladies, low cut necklines and mini-skirts are inappropriate.” Failing to apply the code to both genders, he wrote, was unacceptable.

Statehouse Dress Code May be Reviewed January 22, 2016

AP) – The Kansas Senate’s top leader says one of its committees is likely to reconsider a dress code for women imposed by its chairman.
Senate President Susan Wagle said the Ethics and Elections Committee will probably discuss the issue when it meets again next week. The Wichita Republican serves on the panel but wasn’t present when Chairman and St. John Republican Mitch Holmes outlined rules for the panel.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that Holmes’ rules included a dress code prohibiting women testifying on bills from wearing low-cut necklines and miniskirts. The rules have no dress code for men.
A bipartisan group of women senators is criticizing the dress code.
Wagle plans to let the committee handle objections to the dress code, saying the legislative process eventually moves toward a consensus.