It's been a rough year in the Missouri legislature.
Speaker Diehl (R) was forced to resign over harassing an intern, and
Senator Levota (D) also faced issues of sexual harassment. Missouri Republicans, sensing that something had to change with a "sexually charged" environment had been looking for a way to get around it.
In a multi-part piece for the Kansas City Star, the harassment was labeled "The Wolves of Jeff City". Now, Republicans feel as though they have the solution. The answer, you see, is simple: women need to stop being so tempting.
http://www.kansascity.com/...
Rep. Bill Kidd, an Independence Republican, responded almost immediately with the suggestion that an intern dress code was needed. He was seconded by Republican Rep. Nick King of Liberty.
“We need a good, modest, conservative dress code for both the males and females,” King wrote in an email to colleagues. “Removing one more distraction will help everyone keep their focus on legislative matters.”
Let's face it. It is hard not to harass people when you are being provoked with inappropriate attire.
http://www.kansascity.com/...
“The culture of Jefferson City is very anything goes,” said former state Sen. John Lamping, a St. Louis County Republican who left office in 2014. “We’re in town three days a week, and we don’t work particularly late very often. So the mentality is, ‘Wow, this is so much fun. We’re doing crazier stuff than we did in college. But now we have power, prestige and money.’”
After being accused of Sexual Harassment,
speaker Diehl was greeted by his caucus with a standing ovation.
But these incidents and behavior by elected officials aren't the real problem. The real problem is apparently that women dress too suggestively and the men simply can't help themselves. Having been in Jefferson City repeatedly this year, I cannot recall any intern or staff wearing anything out of place. I was never personal witness to someone wearing a shirt that said, "Harass Me!". I will fully acknowledge I was there only a fraction of the time that the legislature was in session. If anyone was wearing clothing with a written request to be harassed, I have yet to hear of it being documented.
Jeremy LaFaver, a Kansas City Democrat was quoted in the KC Star with an amazing insight: "(The dress code isn’t the problem). Harassing interns is”.
If Lafaver is to be believed, the solution to stopping harassment issues is to stop harassing people. This answer, however may be "too smart by half", as Republicans seem intent on addressing the dress code as the real problem. No word yet on when rulers will be used to measure skirt length.