Seed Newsvine
Female members of the House GOP caucus issued a statement Thursday that criticized Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, for labeling pregnant teenage girls and the boys who have intercourse with them as "sluts."
The statement said:
"Words have a meaning, and we all have an obligation as public officials to be respectful of others.
"We appreciate the fact that Rep. Liston has accepted responsibility for his inappropriate and unacceptable comments.
"His unfortunate use of language distracted from an important caucus discussion of meaningful health care reform.
"Just as we each hold ourselves to a high standard, we also hold our colleagues to a high standard. This incident was unacceptable, and it is our hope that we can focus on the work that we have been sent here to do and to avoid such occurrences in the future."
Members of the House who signed the statement are Reps. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, Amy Stephens, R-Monument, Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, and Stella Garza-Hicks, R-Colorado Springs.
Showing posts with label teen pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teen pregnancy. Show all posts
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Liston Publicly Labels Pregnant Teens "Sluts"
Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, said that young, unmarried women who become pregnant and the men or boys who have intercourse with them are "sluts" during a lunch caucus meeting with health care professionals Wednesday.
According to a report in The Gazette (Colorado Springs), Liston said that "In my parents’ day and age, they were sent away, they were shunned, they were called what they are. There was at least a sense of shame. There’s no sense of shame today. Society condones it. . . . I think it’s wrong. They’re sluts. And I don’t mean just the women. I mean the men, too."
The report goes on to quote Liston's El Paso County colleague, Rep. Stella Garza-Hicks, R-Colorado Springs, as being "disturbed" and "offended" by Liston's remarks.
According to The Gazette report, Liston later explained that he was trying to say that teens who can't afford the children to whom they become parents are able to turn to the government for financial help, which in his view contributes to the prevalence of teen pregnancy.
The Denver Post reported this morning that Liston apologized to Garza-Hicks after his wife expressed concern about his choice of words.
According to a report in The Gazette (Colorado Springs), Liston said that "In my parents’ day and age, they were sent away, they were shunned, they were called what they are. There was at least a sense of shame. There’s no sense of shame today. Society condones it. . . . I think it’s wrong. They’re sluts. And I don’t mean just the women. I mean the men, too."
The report goes on to quote Liston's El Paso County colleague, Rep. Stella Garza-Hicks, R-Colorado Springs, as being "disturbed" and "offended" by Liston's remarks.
According to The Gazette report, Liston later explained that he was trying to say that teens who can't afford the children to whom they become parents are able to turn to the government for financial help, which in his view contributes to the prevalence of teen pregnancy.
The Denver Post reported this morning that Liston apologized to Garza-Hicks after his wife expressed concern about his choice of words.
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