State Watch

Wisconsin lawmaker gets buzz-cut after vowing not to cut hair until sign language bill passed

A Wisconsin state lawmaker got a buzz cut after following through on a year-and-a-half-long pledge to not cut his hair until a sign language interpreter bill was passed, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Monday

State Assembly Rep. Jonathan Brostoff (D) vowed to hold off on a haircut until the state passed a measure addressing the shortage of skilled sign language interpreters. 

Kayleigh Kwasny, a salon owner who became profoundly deaf as a toddler, offered to do the haircut at her shop for free in return for Brostoff bringing attention to the deaf community, according to the Journal-Sentinel.

“People are starting to become more aware of our needs, what we need to fit into the hearing society,” Kwasny told the paper. “It makes hearing people realize … that we matter.”{mosads}

 
Brostoff co-authored the bill after his 2014 election but it had never made it out of committee before he brought attention to it with his hair cut strike. 
 
He learned sign language while interning for former Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) when he became friends with two other interns who are deaf. 
 
“This is the most important legislative accomplishment I’ve had so far, and it feels fantastic,” Brostoff told the Journal-Sentinnel. “It’s a big step forward for deaf access.”