Connecticut House chamber.Photo: Getty Images
Connecticut state lawmakers have been warned about excessively drinking while on the job after a recent viral video of a representative stumbling through her speech.
Speaker of the House Matt Ritter and House Majority Leader Jason Rojas said that they’ve had conversations with their colleagues about imbibing amid the clipand reports thatlawmakers had been drinking too much, including on the roof of the statehouse garage.
Rojas said “it’s important to clarify these are the exceptions, not any kind of norm.”
“I don’t want the public to think this is what is happening on a regular basis at the Capitol,” he added. “There are people doing serious work.”
Said Ritter: “There are lines you cannot cross.”
Connecticut House chamber.Getty Images
The public has not been able to attend legislative sessions amid theCOVID-19 pandemic, which has also allowed legislators to attend sessions virtually from their office in an effort to social distance.
Although the Associated Pressreportedthat, for decades, lawmakers around the country have been known to have drinks during late-night sessions, Ritter said he has had to recently issue warnings “on multiple occasions” to his Connecticut colleagues.
Lawmakers who continue to drink on the job may lose their committee assignments, he told WFSB.
“If somebody ever left this building and injured somebody or themselves, I can’t even begin to think about what those consequences would be and I don’t want that to happen on our watches,” Ritter said.
The continued warnings at the Connecticut statehouse come as a video of state Rep. Robin Comey struggling through her speech in late Mayspread widely onlineandgot spoofedonJimmy Kimmel Live!last week.
Comey apologized and blamed the incident on having wine at dinner as well as anxiety and exhaustion.
“I suddenly and unexpectedly began to feel unwell,” she wrote in a statement, according to theConnecticut Post. “This was due to several factors, including anxiety, exhaustion, and regrettably, the wine I had with dinner. This type of behavior is not typical for me. I take full responsibility for my error in judgement.”
source: people.com
