GOP State Lawmaker: If Witnesses Of College Rape Exist It Was ‘A Really Great Party’

A Republican state lawmaker in Connecticut is under fire for disturbing comments he made during a hearing on a campus sexual assault bill.

Why can’t Republican lawmakers stop the stupid talk about rape. It might as well be labeled the Todd Akin syndrome, but it extends back much further than the disgraced Missouri former Congressman.

You’ll remember, of course, it was Akin in August of 2012 who claimed “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

There have been countless others since, some joking about rape, others serious in their ignorance of what rape actually is, or how it affects victims, both physically and emotionally.

Today you can add Connecticut Republican State Representative to the shameful list.

During a debate on a campus sexual assault bill Tuesday, Connecticut state Rep. Mike Bocchino offered up an unwise opinion. The bill would require both parties about to engage in an intimate or otherwise sexual moment to both consent by saying “yes.”

“No question that sexual assault is a horrific thing,” Bocchino, who voted for the bill, told his colleagues. “No question that date rape things that happen on college campuses are disgusting,” he added. “Because at the end of the day, there are no witnesses…or at least if there are, it’s a really great party.”

Local Connecticut news station WFSB interviewed college student Emily Tourgeman, who had been at Tuesday’s hearing.

“I think that is so rude. I don’t understand how someone in that high of a position, someone who is supposed to be in the public eye in a positive way, can make a degrading comment,” she said. “That’s a really childish comment.”

Nearly 24 hours later, Bocchino finally offered a statement that incorrectly characterizes and incorrectly quotes his comments,a nd offers a slim apology.

“In commenting on this important bill, I stated that I was not comfortable with the definition of ‘affirmative consent’ that was being used because it left room for misinterpretation,” Bocchino said in a statement. “Some of my colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats had shared similar reservations in the committee discussion. In a sarcastic remark I referenced a situation where more than two people might be present at an intimate encounter where the point of consent was reached as ‘some kind of party.’ It was an unfortunate phrase to use because it was misconstrued by some who apparently wanted to undermine my support for this important legislation.”

Bocchino actually said, “it’s a really great party,” not “some kind of party.”

“If anyone took my comments that way I apologize,” Bocchino added, “but that wasn’t what they were intended for.”

 

Hat tip: David Ferguson at Raw Story
Video via WFSB
Image via Facebook