New Hampshire Republicans Kill 4th Graders’ State Mascot Bill After Unhinged Planned Parenthood Rant
A group of New Hampshire fourth graders got a perhaps too-accurate lesson in the cutthroat world of politics on Thursday.
According to NH1.com, fourth grade teacher James Cutting from the Lincoln Akerman School in Hampton Falls took his students to the New Hampshire State House as part of a lesson plan showing how a bill becomes a law.
Cutting’s students sponsored a bill of their own, moving to make the Red Tail Hawk New Hampshire’s official State Raptor.
Republican lawmakers, however, quickly showed that there is no legislative matter too trivial or innocuous for them to use as a chance to politically grandstand.
After the measure passed the Environment and Agriculture Committee with a majority vote, Republicans on the House floor took exception to its provisions.
Rep. Warren Groen (R) chose to use the moment to attack women’s reproductive freedom, saying, “It grasps them with its talons then uses its razor sharp beak to basically tear it apart limb by limb, and I guess the shame about making this a state bird is it would serve as a much better mascot for Planned Parenthood.”
Rep. John Burt objected to the students’ proposal because he thinks there are already too many laws.
“Bottom line, if we keep bringing more of these bills, and bills, and bills forward that really I think we shouldn’t have in front of us, we’ll be picking a state hot dog next,” Burt insisted.
As the children watched from the House Gallery, the bill was voted down in a 133-to-160 vote.
