CNN reports that Barry Hovis, a Republican and ex-cop elected to Missouri’s legislature in 2018, claimed in support of an unconstitutional anti-abortion bill that most rapes are “date rapes or consensual rapes.” Read story here.
I think a lot of women would be surprised to learn there’s no such thing as forcible rape.
Which brings me to this point: There are three kinds of facts … Real or True Facts, Legal Facts, and Political Facts. I won’t go into the precise distinctions here. Suffice to say that in their rush to pass unconstitutional legislation designed to force the Supreme Court to revisit Roe v. Wade by making their bills as provocative as possible, which most GOP-controlled state legislatures are now doing, their twisting of facts has gotten truly bizarre — as Rep. Hovis’ remarks show.
And it’s really not necessary. They have the votes to pass their unconstitutional bills, so just pass them already. No need to contort themselves into pretzels trying to justify it and looking stupid in the process. It doesn’t need to be justified or explained; everyone knows what they’re up to.
Let’s discuss what deliberately enacting unconstitutional laws implies with respect to their oaths of office to uphold the state and federal constitutions some other time. I want to keep this article short. (Hint: You could reasonably argue they should all be impeached.)
Maybe Rep. Hovis couldn’t help himself, maybe he really is that stupid, in which case he shouldn’t be either a legislator or a cop.
Photo: Missouri Rep. Barry Hovis later apologized for claiming rape is consensual, but if I were a woman living in Missouri, I wouldn’t vote for him anyway.