Last night, the Daily Show had a segment where Aasif Mandvi went to Missouri to look at what just passed the state house, and profiled who may be the dumbest state legislator in Missouri.
AASIF MANDVI: How many examples of gun owner discrimination do you currently know of?
WANDA BROWN: Well, you know, I'd rather not get into the examples.
AASIF MANDVI: Right, but you must have thousands of them. But can you give me a few?
WANDA BROWN: This is preventative, just like to protect the Second Amendment of everyone in the future.
....
AASIF MANDVI: Would you support something beyond the Second Amendment, for example, for sexual orientation?
....
WANDA BROWN: You know, I am all for any liberal legislator that wants to file the bill that you're talking about.
....
AASIF MANDVI: Wanda, have you ever voted against gay workplace rights?
WANDA BROWN: Has that been on the ballot here?
AASIF MANDVI: I don't know, I'm asking you!
WANDA BROWN: That I know of, it has never been an issue that I have had to vote on, one way or another.
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: Actually, only a year ago, she did vote on it, one way or another. She voted no.
AASIF MANDVI: How do you feel about someone being fired for their sexual orientation?
WANDA BROWN: I don't... has that happened before?
AASIF MANDVI: Yes.
WANDA BROWN: Can you give me an example?
....
AASIF MANDVI: Ah, Al Fisher, a gay schoolteacher, was fired in February... Steph Williams, a transgendered employee, was fired due to her transgender status... State trooper Corporal Dennis Englehart, his male partner was denied death benefits...
On March 15, high school principal Cynthia Davis was let go after having gay relationships in the past.
WANDA BROWN: Someone assumes they were fired for being gay. Maybe they were fired because they were a bad worker. Have they went to court?
AASIF MANDVI: How successful are claims that go to court, based on something that is not illegal?
WANDA BROWN: ... I don't know.
AASIF MANDVI: I'm guessing 0%.
WANDA BROWN: 0% of what?
AASIF MANDVI: 0% of those people will win a case if it is not illegal.
WANDA BROWN: OK, so you have something to back that up with?
AASIF MANDVI: Yes, common sense!
JON STEWART: Did you know that Missouri gun owners face rampant discrimination every single day? No? It's because they don't. But that hasn't stopped one Missouri lawmaker from fighting on their behalf. Aasif Mandvi has more.
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: The history of civil rights is one of long struggle and hard-fought victories. Meet our latest hero, Wanda Brown of the Missouri House of Representatives. She's leading a new march of progress, with her landmark bill, H.B. 1621.
STATE REP. WANDA BROWN (R, MO-HD-116): This bill creates an environment that an employer can't fire an employee if they own firearms, if they use firearms. If you target practice, if you hunt, they wouldn't have the right to fire you for that reason.
AASIF MANDVI: Right, but aren't gun owners already protected?
WANDA BROWN: We have a Second Amendment to the Constitution that should be abided by at all times.
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: Wanda's bill, like a second condom, adds another layer of protection against employers who would disregard the Constitution.
AASIF MANDVI: I think I understand. You're the kind of person who sees discrimination somewhere, and wants to fight it.
WANDA BROWN: Yes.
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: Thanks to Wanda Brown's crusade against injustice, H.B. 1621 sailed through the House by 115-36, releasing gun owners from the shackles of persecution.
AASIF MANDVI: Now, a gun owner can own a gun, and no longer be fired for it.
GUN OWNER #1: True... I'm not aware of anybody having that problem.
GUN OWNER #2: Since when can you be fired for owning a gun?
AASIF MANDVI: That's what the law... the new law... the new bill that's passed.
GUN OWNER #2: I've never heard of it.
AASIF MANDVI: Have you ever personally been fired for owning a gun?
GUN OWNER #1: No. I have not.
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: Maybe we didn't talk to enough people. Surely, Wanda knows of countless oppressed Missouri gun owners.
AASIF MANDVI: How many examples of gun owner discrimination do you currently know of?
WANDA BROWN: Well, you know, I'd rather not get into the examples.
AASIF MANDVI: Right, but you must have thousands of them. But can you give me a few?
WANDA BROWN: This is preventative, just like to protect the Second Amendment of everyone in the future.
AASIF MANDVI: Well, OK. So this is a preventative bill.
WANDA BROWN: Yes.
AASIF MANDVI: It's a good plan. You skip all the oppression and discrimination, and you just jump to the civil rights victory.
WANDA BROWN: Yes.
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: Sadly, others still await their Wanda Brown. I talked to Mike Colona, the only gay man in the Missouri House.
STATE REP. MIKE COLONA (D, MO-HD-67): I can be fired based upon my sexual orientation. Is that right? No, it's not right.
AASIF MANDVI: Sexual orientation is not protected in the state of Missouri?
MIKE COLONA: No. We've been trying to add sexual orientation to the Missouri human rights laws for years.
AASIF MANDVI: You need an ally. And I know just the person. She's all about protection, she's all about privacy, her name is Wanda Brown, I'm gonna talk to her. Hold on a second.
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: With Wanda's help, we shall overcome.
AASIF MANDVI: Would you support something beyond the Second Amendment, for example, for sexual orientation?
WANDA BROWN: Well... I don't know. I wouldn't... I... I have no idea.
AASIF MANDVI: Oh. But you also, at your very core, are a person who disagrees with discrimination.
WANDA BROWN: Well, absolutely. You know, I am all for any liberal legislator that wants to file the bill that you're talking about.
AASIF MANDVI: Great!
AASIF MANDVI: I'm talking to Wanda, it's looking good.
MIKE COLONA: I don't know if we're talking about the same Wanda Brown.
AASIF MANDVI: Yeah, Wanda Brown. She's got the hair.
MIKE COLONA: This is a state representative who voted against protecting LGBT individuals in our employment discrimination law.
AASIF MANDVI: Wait, what?
AASIF MANDVI: Wanda, have you ever voted against gay workplace rights?
WANDA BROWN: Has that been on the ballot here?
AASIF MANDVI: I don't know, I'm asking you!
MIKE COLONA: It's an insult, and a slap upside the head. It got voted down, and Wanda was one of the people that voted against it.
WANDA BROWN: That I know of, it has never been an issue that I have had to vote on, one way or another.
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: Actually, only a year ago, she did vote on it, one way or another. She voted no.
Maybe she's been so busy battling oppression that doesn't exist yet, she didn't have time to fight oppression that does.
AASIF MANDVI: How do you feel about someone being fired for their sexual orientation?
WANDA BROWN: I don't... has that happened before?
AASIF MANDVI: Yes.
WANDA BROWN: Can you give me an example?
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: An example? Didn't she just....?
WANDA BROWN (in flashback) : Well, you know, I'd rather not get into the examples.
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: Well, let's see what I can do.
AASIF MANDVI: Ah, Al Fisher, a gay schoolteacher, was fired in February... Steph Williams, a transgendered employee, was fired due to her transgender status...
State trooper Corporal Dennis Englehart...
his male partner was denied death benefits...
On March 15, high school principal Cynthia Davis was let go after having gay relationships in the past.
WANDA BROWN: Someone assumes they were fired for being gay. Maybe they were fired because they were a bad worker. Have they went to court?
AASIF MANDVI: How successful are claims that go to court, based on something that is not illegal?
WANDA BROWN: ... I don't know.
AASIF MANDVI: I'm guessing 0%.
WANDA BROWN: 0% of what?
AASIF MANDVI: 0% of those people will win a case if it is not illegal.
WANDA BROWN: OK, so you have something to back that up with?
AASIF MANDVI: Yes, common sense!
AASIF MANDVI VOICEOVER: Oh well, sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war. The important thing is, Wanda Brown's H.B. 1621 will stand as a monument, defending the most defenseless: gun owners.
from his visit on Facebook. They were a bit worried: "God only knows how this liberal leaning group will twist this around." They were spared, though. Only Wanda Brown came off looking like an idiot.
Jon also looked at the treasure trove of information the U.S. got from bin Laden's compound last year, including some of Osama bin Laden's writings.
the tricky diplomatic situation facing Hillary Clinton.
because, guess what, they hate Obama much, much more than they ever could hate Romney.
in Florida, a self-described billionaire, who's started several dozen PACs, and has run for multiple offices in the state.
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