Alaskan men, you had better stock up on guns and ammo and round up a posse. Mike Kelly, District 7’s Representative to our State Legislature, has made it clear that you are all responsible for “taking care of your women” Wild West style. Don’t count on the police to help out your mothers, wives, and daughters. The only folks you can rely on are Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson .
Here’s the story according to the News-Miner:
Kelly made his comments during a committee hearing Friday on a bill that would stiffen the penalty for third-time offenders of domestic violence. He said he was concerned that relying more on the law and an overworked police force to address the issue would allow men to shirk the responsibility of “taking care of their women.”
“It just seems to me that the message is clear here,” he said, “that the female — the other half of the population — is falling down because they’re doing stupid things marrying the beasts among us, or shacking up with them.
I can imagine Kelly’s dream Alaska. Unburdened by the evil of government, it’s a place where tribal bands of men defend the honor of “their women.” It’s a place where public schools have been dismantled and religious private schools predominate. Maybe a store would sell burqas printed with Alaska flags. Haven’t I recently heard of a place like this?
According to Kelly, not only are wives to blame for their husband’s abuse, but gays and lesbians don’t deserve equality. Kelly was a big supporter of last April’s advisory vote designed to strip benefits from same sex couples.
I do wonder, if men are supposed to protect women, and the police shouldn’t be burdened with assault, who’s supposed to protect a man who is being beaten? Superman? Batman? Spidey?
Representative Kelly should step out of the middle ages. According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services:
Alaska ranks among the top 5 states in the nation for per capita rates of domestic violence.
The rate of Alaskan women being killed by a partner is 1.5 times the national average.
Since 1976, Alaska has ranked in the top five states in the nation for the highest rate of reported rape per capita. In 1993, Alaska ranked 1st in the nation: highest per capita incidence of rape.
Alaska has 6 times the national average of reported child sexual assault.
Fairbanks Health Center surveyed 419 clients over a 3-week period and found that 24% reported physical abuse in the past 6 months while 39% reported some form of sexual abuse (1995).
Abuse is a societal problem. Alaska is sick with it. As a society, we must take measures to remedy it. The first measure the voters of District 7 should take is to oust Representative Kelly.
He hasn’t represented us for years. Last April, he called the advisory vote on same sex benefits a success even though voters in his own District rejected it.
A few years ago, he was instrumental in dismantling the Teacher’s Retirement System, which has made it more difficult for our educator-starved state to recruit and retain teachers. Ironically, last year Kelly was appointed to serve on a Legislative Education Funding Task Force. He graduated from a private religious school and his children attended private religious schools. What experience does he have with public education?
Let’s stop “shacking up” with Representative Kelly. He’s been abusing the voters in his district for years with his indifference to their opinions. It’s time for us to kick him to the curb. If we stop voting for him, we’ll finally be rid of one of the “beasts among us.”
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