I read a story this morning that made my blood boil. Colorado Republican state Senator Dave Schultheis yesterday voted against a bill to require HIV tests for pregnant women because the disease "stems from sexual promiscuity" and he didn't think the Legislature should "remove the negative consequences that take place from poor behavior and unacceptable behavior."
That's right. Republican Dave Schultheis believes:
- Women only get HIV by being sexually "promiscuous"
- Babies of these women should not be treated, and the child's HIV should be considered punishment to these women.
The party of the family, ladies and gentlemen.
Here's what the Senator had to say on the floor:
Sexual promiscuity, we know, causes a lot of problems in our state, one of which, obviously, is the contraction of HIV. And we have other programs that deal with the negative consequences — we put up part of our high schools where we allow students maybe 13 years old who put their child in a small daycare center there.
We do things continually to remove the negative consequences that take place from poor behavior and unacceptable behavior, quite frankly, and I don’t think that’s the role of this body.
As a result of that I finally came to the conclusion I would have to be a no vote on this because this stems from sexual promiscuity for the most part, and I just can’t vote on this bill and I wanted to explain to this body why I was going to be a no vote on this.
That rationale is so horrifying, so incredibly cruel I don't even know where to start. Steve Benen sums it up quite nicely:
I can't relate to an ideology that can fairly be described as "twisted," but let's be clear. Schultheis believes it's important for women to face "negative consequences" for sexual behavior that he considers "unacceptable." If that means more women and children become HIV positive, he's fine with that.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. In a follow-up story by the Rocky Mountain News, Schultheis had this to say (emphasis mine):
The Rocky Mountain News in a follow-up story to Wednesday’s Senate floor controversy:
"What I’m hoping is that, yes, that person may have AIDS, have it seriously as a baby and when they grow up, but the mother will begin to feel guilt as a result of that," he said. "The family will see the negative consequences of that promiscuity and it may make a number of people over the coming years begin to realize that there are negative consequences and maybe they should adjust their behavior."
Yes, Schultheis really said he is "hoping" people "have AIDS, have it seriously as a baby ..."
Fortunately, the bill passed 32-1 despite this nutjob's opposition.
In case you're interested, here is the good Senator's contact information as posted on his website. I really think we need to get the word out about this guy.
State Capitol
200 E. Colfax Avenue
Denver, CO 80203
Room # 274
Office: (303) 866-4835
Fax: (303) 866-2012
District
PO Box 49282
Colorado Springs, CO 80949-0282
Office: (719) 532-0546
Fax: (719) 532-0546
Email
Senator Dave Schultheis
Email:senatorschultheis@gmail.com