N.H. State Rep. Has Refreshingly Non-Judgmental Views On Wife Beating, 'Cause Some People Are Into That, He Guesses

Hey, kids, looks like another candidate has tossed his asshat into the ring for our Legislative Shitmuffin of the Year contest! The newest contendah is New Hampshire state Rep. Mark Warden (R-Fuck This Guy), who was one of four members of an NH House committee to vote in favor of reducing the penalty for some cases of simple assault from a misdemeanor to a "violation-level offense." Speaking in support of the reduced penalty, Warden explained it's merely a matter of accommodating different lifestyle choices , you know, to be considerate of the wife-beaters.

"Some people could make the argument that a lot of people like being in abusive relationships," Warden said during a meeting held by the committee. "It's a love-hate relationship. It's very, very common for people to stick around with somebody they love who also abuses him or her."

He continued, "Is the solution to those kind of dysfunctional relationships going to be more government, another law? I tend to say no. People are always free to leave."

Because, you know, free choice, right? Rep. Warren is a big-time libertarian who has proposed legalizing potand has voted to broaden the state's "stand your ground" law to allow people to shoot others wherever they feel threatened. So it makes sense that he doesn't see why the state should protect people who are getting beaten by their spouses. After all, if women want protection, they could choose to get a gun and actually do something for themselves, right?

In answer to questions from the  Concord Monitor  ,Warden clarified by saying that “I’m sure it was taken out of context, but that’s all I’m going to say about it," so really, there are probably like 50 Shades of Context. Maybe he really does think that battered women just need to be more assertive about establishing a safeword.

In any case, it would appear that partners in abusive relationships in Hew Hampshire will still have to suffer from unwarranted state intervention, because the committee voted 16-4 to recommend that the full House kill the bill. But if abusive spouses in New Hampshire don't like it there, we suppose they're always free to just leave.

[ TPM / Concord Monitor ]