Photo: Robert Cross/Chicago Tribune/Getty
All 25 Ohio Republican senators were shipped envelopes of feces, discovered Thursday morning.
In an interview withNews 5, Fortney said the situation is “ridiculous” and that they’re assuming the feces is human rather than animal.
“I’m really angry about it,” Fortney said to the outlet. “These are a bunch of little scared, little cowards that wouldn’t say s— or a thing to you face-to-face, right? They would rather send it in the mail.”
He continued, “As always, the safety of all 33 members of the Senate, their staff and Statehouse employees remains a priority.”
For Republican senator Jay Hottinger, this incident is “gross and stupid, immaturity at its highest level,” he toldThe Columbus Dispatch.
“Just another crappy day,” Hottinger added.
Sen. Jay Hottinger and State Sen. Kristina Roegner.Courtesy The Ohio Senate
Speaking to News 5, State Sen. Kristina Roegner said she’s trying to be understanding.
“There are other things going on and I don’t want to make myself seem like a victim,” she said to the outlet. “I understand that people are very passionate right now.”
Republican senators recently passed a 6-week abortion ban followingthe Supreme Court’s decision to overturnRoe v. Wadelast month.
“This is a highly charged and emotional issue, there’s passion on both sides,” Roegner said to the outlet. “But we need to engage in civil discourse.”
According to News 5, the Statehouse team is now determining if heightened security measures for the policymakers will be required moving forward.
Protestors face off outside the Supreme Court after a draft opinion stating the intention to overturnRoe v. Wadewas leaked.BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Last month’s6-to-3 rulingin the federal Supreme Court reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, giving states the power to pass their own laws around abortion. Since the decision, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri and South Dakota have alreadybanned abortion in their states, afterputting trigger laws in placethat governors enacted following the SCOTUS ruling.
“Today the Supreme Court of the United States expressly took away the constitutional right for the American people they had already recognized. They didn’t limit it, they simply took it away. That’s never been done to a right so important to so many Americans,” Biden said in a speech hours after the decision. “Now withRoegone, let’s be very clear: the health and life of women in this nation, are now at risk.”
“The consequences and the consensus of the American people — core principles of equality, liberty, dignity, and a stability of the rule of law — demand thatRoeshould not have been overturned,” he added. “With this decision, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court show how extreme it is; how far removed they are from the majority of this country, that they’ve made the United States an outlier among developed nations of the world.”
In a speech from the White House, Biden discussed the plan for his administration to use “all of its appropriate lawful powers to fight back” but imploring Congress to take action.
RELATED VIDEO: President Joe Biden Speaks Out as Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade
“I know so many of us are frustrated and disillusioned that the court has taken something away that is so fundamental. I know so many women are now going to face incredibly difficult situations,” the president said. “I hear you, I support you, I stand with you.”
“Congress must act,” Biden said. “Let me be very clear and not ambiguous: the only way we can secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore the protection ofRoe v. Wadeas federal law. No executive action from the president can do that. And if Congress, as it appears, lacks the vote to do that now, voters need to make their voices heard.”
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Since then, Biden has also spoken about his desire to codifyRoe v. Wadeinto law.
“The way to do that is to make sure the Congress votes to do that, and if the filibuster gets in the way, it’s like voting rights – it should be (that) we provide an exception to this … requiring an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision,” Biden said in a news conference in Madrid last month.
source: people.com
