GOP lawmaker refuses apology after 'avalanche of hate' hits him for calling teens 'ripe'

A Republican state lawmaker in New Hampshire is refusing to apologize after a firestorm over comments he made about pregnant teenagers.

According to The Daily Beast, "Rep. Jess Edwards sparked national outcry when he opposed a bill that would raise the age of marriage from 16 to 18, saying on the House floor that outlawing marriage for people of a 'ripe, fertile age' could result in more abortions.

"In an interview with The Daily Beast on Tuesday night, Edwards said using the word 'ripe' was a mistake, but that he did not deserve the hundreds of emails he received calling him a pedophile and worse."

“I misspoke. It was an inappropriate word,” acknowledged Edwards. However, he added, “Because I have this avalanche of hate, I really don't want to apologize in the face of that, because I don’t want to encourage this behavior for the next guy who says the wrong word. By giving into all of the mob, I don’t want to feed the beast. I don’t care to apologize to the haters.”

The controversy in question occurred last week. "If we continually restrict the freedom of marriage as a legitimate social option, when we do this to people who are a ripe, fertile age and may have a pregnancy and a baby involved, are we not in fact making abortion a much more desirable alternative, when marriage might be the right solution for some freedom-loving couples?" Edwards said in a speech captured on video and shared around social media.

The bill in question passed and will replace the current standard in New Hampshire that allows 16 and 17-year-olds to marry with the consent of legal guardians.

In the same interview, Edwards added that, “I’m on record as being pro-choice from the New Hampshire abortion perspective, I’ve been pro-choice in terms of funding the social services necessary to support a welfare system, and so the third leg of that stool is to leave marriage as an option.”