Wisconsin state representative Roger Rivard (R-Rice Lake) got a little press for saying that "some girls rape easy". He later said that it was, of course, taken out of context.
It's worse in context. Rivard was discussing the forced sexual assault of a 14 year old girl in the local high school. The 17 year old perp had claimed that the assault was consensual, and Rivard was supporting his story.
We've had two developments in this case in the past two days. First, the Barron County DA who prosecuted the case has just let loose on Rivard, hitting him (metaphorically) between the eyes. Or somewhere.
And the allegedly "pro-family" but definitely anti-gay Wisconsin arm of the Family Research Council, Wisconsin Family Action, has endorsed Rivard and 44 other republican candidates. No, this is not the Onion.
Throw Rivard an anchor - toss a dollar or two to his opponent, Steve Smith.
Credit where it's due - this case was originally brought to our attention by RHinWI and Brainwrap last week.
First, the Barron County DA:
Madison - When state Rep. Roger Rivard said his father had warned him that women could agree to sex but later claim it wasn't consensual, he was answering questions from a reporter about a specific case in his district.
But that case, involving two students at a high school in northwestern Wisconsin, had no element of consent, the Barron County district attorney said Monday.
"The public needs to know the case Rep. Rivard was speaking about was not a 'Romeo and Juliet' situation," said a statement from the Democratic district attorney, Angela Beranek. "This was a sex act perpetrated by force against the will of the victim. There was no consent."
And I'll let the DA speak some more for herself. Please check out the link - I don't want to give this case any more coverage than it needs, and Rivard's attempts at humor are worse than vile.
Beranek said instances of women falsely claiming rape are rare. She said in nearly 10 years as district attorney she could recall just one instance of it happening in her jurisdiction.
"He does not understand victims of crime," she said in the interview. "I hope he doesn't find himself in a situation where someone near and dear to him becomes a crime victim, because I think he would view this differently."
In her statement, Beranek said: "Prosecutors and law enforcement officers work hard every day to protect the rights of victims in Wisconsin. We cannot do our jobs with legislators like Roger Rivard who hold such out-of-touch, ignorant and reprehensible opinions about the victims we serve working against us."
Irony is dead.
Rivard has lost support from statewide republicans and even from the state republican Assembly campaign committee. But he picked up some support today - from Wisconsin Family Action, a gay-hating "family values" arm of the Family Research Council.
“We are very pleased to endorse candidates who recognize the importance of America’s and Wisconsin’s best natural resource -- her traditional families -- and who realize that our state’s and our country’s well-being is closely tied to the strength of this resource," said a statement from Julaine Appling, the group's director. "These are candidates who will, in both policy and practice, work to help ensure that our families become or remain independent of government."
In an interview, Appling said her group endorsed Rivard because of his stance on issues. She declined to say whether the group considered withholding its endorsement because of his comments on rape or whether she thought his comments were appropriate.
This is the same Julaine Appling who demanded that the state of Wisconsin enforce a 1915 law criminalizing leaving the state to get married (originally meant to prevent underage marriage) - to jail gays and lesbians who get married in other states.
Yes, send teh gays to jail, but supporting guys who sexually assault 14 year old girls is a traditional family value.