As expected, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly is continuing his smear campaign against Colorado House Speaker Mark Ferrandino (D), who is openly gay, because of his opposition to instituting “Jessica’s Law,” which imposes excessive mandatory sentences for first-time offenders of child molesters. As ThinkProgress reported this weekend, Colorado already has harsh sentencing for sex offenders and nobody — not even the law enforcement community or victims’ advocates groups — supports changing the laws. But that hasn’t stopped O’Reilly from pursuing his campaign against Ferrandino, who he plans to hold “personally responsible” for the bill’s defeat and for “protecting” perpetrators.

Last night, O’Reilly aired an interview featuring reporter Jesse Watters confronting Ferrandino on the street while he was walking his dog, accusing him of “not protecting the kids from sexual predators.” Ferrandino barely had an opportunity to speak as Watters launched a barrage of various cases in which molesters supposedly did not receive tough enough sentences:

From the 03.04.2013 edition of FNC’s The O’Reilly Factor:

WATTERS: You’re not protecting the kids from sexual predators in passing Jessica’s law. Why is that?

FERRANDINO: Well, no DA’s. The DA has actually opposed Jessica’s law. So have victim rights groups in Colorado. In 2009, the DA has come out in opposition to the bill. They haven’t supported it still. We have very strong laws.

WATTERS: You actually don’t have strong laws because let me give you a few examples. 800 times a guy just sexually assaulted a seventh grader and just got one year of work release. Ok? Another guy.

FERRANDINO: I can’t speak —

WATTERS: Another guy molested  —

FERRANDINO: Excuse me.

Before the exchange abruptly ended, Ferrandino managed to explain that Colorado’s laws “are tougher than Jessica’s laws” and that “we know what’s in Colorado’s best interest,” but Watters was not particularly interested in letting him make his case. 

It seems increasingly apparent that he is simply manipulating the fact that Ferrandino is gay to prey on viewers’ fears that the Speaker is thus somehow more likely to be endangering children.

h/t: Zack Ford at Think Progress LGBT

According to police, a man named Franklin Sain sent six emails, one voicemail and one written letter to Fields that were riddled with obscenities, racial slurs, sexist language and violent threats:

“I guarantee there is not enough law enforcement or military to stop an all-out overthrow of this government if you or that n—– president tries to take our guns,” one e-mail dated Feb. 13 reads. “Guarantee we will make World War I and II look like child’s play, many will die. Be prepared.”

Another e-mail expresses hope that someone would “Giffords” both Fields and Rep. Beth McCann, a reference to the 2011 mass shooting that nearly killed Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords.

The paper letter attributed to Sain states, “There will be blood! I’m coming for you, n—– b—–.” … “Limiting magazine sizes is stupid and will not work,” he wrote on Feb. 13. “I for one have 100+ 30 round mags and 150 round drums. I will never give those up and I am far from being some whack job.”

In an email to Fields the following day, Sain wrote: “I ordered a ton of new 30 round magazines today C***bag…go f*** yourself and your new law…we won’t abide by it…C*** N*****.”

Before she joined the legislature, Fields’ own son was shot and killed as he waited to testify against a gang member.

h/t:  Ian Millhiser at Think Progress Justicr

There’s this new hashtag #LiberalTips2AvoidRape that’s now on its second day of trending on Twitter.

For the uninitiated, this isn’t an example of right-wingers deciding out-of-the-blue to be insensitive to rape victims. They have their reason, and his name is Joe Salazar, a first-term Democratic state representative in Colorado. On Friday, Salazar spoke on the state House floor in support of House Bill 13-1226, which would eliminate “the authority of a concealed handgun permit holder to possess a concealed handgun on the campus of an institution of high education.” In other words, Salazar’s bill would ban concealed firearms on college campuses in Colorado. Opponents of the proposed legislation maintain that banning concealed carry on campuses would make it harder for students to protect themselves against mass shooters and rapists on school grounds.

Salazar came down on the side of those who believe that more loaded guns on college campuses is a terrible idea. (This isn’t such a radical opinion if you look at the data.) Hedelivered the following rebuttal on the state House floor:

It’s why we have call boxes, it’s why we have safe zones, that’s why we have the whistles. Because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at. And you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around, or if you feel like you’re in trouble and when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop… pop a round at somebody.

There’s footage of the speech here.

It’s pretty clear what Salazar was trying to say: Frightened college kids carrying handguns might result in unintended casualties. You could argue that it was clumsily phrased, but there isn’t anything nefarious. The statement was so blah that the Colorado House Republican minority didn’t bother to issue a press release about Salazar’s statement. At least not until after conservative bloggers, seeking to brand somebody the Democratic Todd “Legitimate Rape” Akin, commenced their social-media freak-out during the long President’s Day weekend.

Salazar was labeled the new poster boy for the “real war on women,” and painted as someone who denies women the right to protect themselves against sexual assault. He was portrayed as an out-of-touch, gun-stealing lefty who promoted blowing a whistle over actually fighting off an attack. Many also latched onto Salazar’s “you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped,” upgraded the meaning to something around the lines of, “women can’t ever tell when they’re about to get raped/getting raped,” and voilà! New Todd Akin.

“It’s not ‘rape-rape’ until a male Dem gives his stamp of approval, you dumb broads,” an anonymous staff writer wrote at this website founded by conservative pundit Michelle Malkin. Her site has been at the forefront of the Salazar-related uproar. Dana Loesch, Glenn Beck, Herman Cain’s CainTV, folks at Fox News, and many others piled on accordingly.

Another reason why Mother Jones rocks!

h/t: Asawin Suebsaeng at Mother Jones

In a debate over whether to prevent college students from carrying concealed weapons on campus on Friday, Colorado Rep. Joe Salazar (D) suggested that female students are too paranoid to responsibly carry weapons. According to the state lawmaker, women may not be able to tell whether or not they’re actually in danger and end up pulling the trigger on an innocent person:

SALAZAR: It’s why we have call boxes, it’s why we have safe zones, it’s why we have the whistles. Because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at. And you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around or if you feel like you’re in trouble when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop … pop a round at somebody.

Gun advocates often attempt to frame concealed carry permits as a women’s issue, claiming that women need the added protection of a firearm to fight back against attempted incidents of sexual assault. Domestic violence counselors vehemently oppose the policy, pointing out that hidden guns on campus won’t actually help address rape culture, particularly since an estimated two-thirds of sexual assaults occur between people who already know each other. But suggesting that women are too emotional to be able to identify sexual violence — and implying that paranoid women may sometimes “feel like” they’re in trouble when they “may actually not be” — doesn’t help address pervasive issues of rape culture, either.

Salazar apologized for his remarks today. “I’m sorry if I offended anyone,” his statement read. “That was not my intention. We were having a public policy debate on whether or not guns makes people safer on campus. I don’t believe they do. That was the point I was trying to make.”

At least Salazar apologized, unlike 2 certain you-know-whos that lost their Senate races this past November.

H/T: Tara Culp-Ressler at Think Progress Health

The evil kook is at it again: Recently writing for fellow former CNN “contributor” Erick Erickson’s RedState blog, callous RWNJ asshole Dana Loesch is peddling even more distortions on guns and women. The victim of Loesch’s misleading lies: Colorado State Rep. Joe Salazar (D-COLD31) for defending rape whistles and supporting a concealed weapons ban on college campuses.

KDVR, Denver’s FOX affiliate:

DENVER — First-year state Rep. Joe Salazar is apologizing for a statement during Friday’s debate over a concealed weapons ban on college campuses that has drawn the ire of conservatives across the blogosphere.
In arguing in favor of the ban, Salazar, D-Thornton, said that women on college campuses don’t need guns to feel that they’re safe. 

“It’s why we have call boxes, it’s why we have safe zones, it’s why we have the whistles,” Salazar said on the House floor. “Because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at. And you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around or if you feel like you’re in trouble when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop … pop around at somebody.” 

“I’m sorry if I offended anyone. That was absolutely not my intention,” Salazar said. “We were having a public policy debate on whether or not guns makes people safer on campus. I don’t believe they do. That was the point I was trying to make. If anyone thinks I’m not sensitive to the dangers women face, they’re wrong.

But that only served to egg on the right-wing morons, such as Loesch and Malkin.

She wrote in her RedState blog her usual distortionist BS:

Chill, women, says Colorado Democrat Rep. Joe Salazar. While arguing for the disarmament of college students, Salazar says that even if women feel like they’re going to be raped, they may not, so who needs a firearm for protection?  

This is the real “war on women” I’ve talked about: the progressive insistence that women disarm. Women, according to Rep. Salazar, are hysterical things which shoot indiscriminately at any and everything. 

This “feel like you’re going to be raped” nonsense is as poorly-worded as the “shut that whole thing down” drama from last fall. If Democrats don’t swiftly condemn this, I see this used as a tactic to showcase the vast lack of respect Democrats have for a woman’s right to self defense.

While she attacked Salazar, Loesch had the nerve to defend 2012 Senate candidate and former Congressman Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” remarks. BTW, Mrs. Liaresch, Salazar is NOT advocating “disarment” of women. She also falsely accused Democrats having a lack of respect for women.

Salazar claims to have a record of defending women’s rights but his actions to disenfranchise them of their Second Amendment rights are completely contradictory to that claim. One in four collegiate women report rape and one in five are raped. Salazar wants to deprive women of their right to defense with these odds? Just blow your rape whistles and pray that an attacker represents the “safe zone” boundaries? The best apology is a reversal of his war on women.

This claim by her is absolutely pants-on-fire false.


She took to Twitter to further demonize Salazar (and by extension, the Democratic Party):

“You don’t know if you feel like you’re going to be raped” or like, rape-raped. So whistles are a good bet, says Dem Rep. Salazar.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 18, 2013

Because women are hysterical little things who just shoot indiscriminately, according to Dem Rep. Joe Salazar. #waronwomen
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 18, 2013

This is what Democrat males think of a woman’s right to self defense: bit.ly/15qwqGB
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 18, 2013

A woman’s right to self defense is under attack in this country from Dems like Salazar. #waronwomen
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 18, 2013

#COLeg Dem Salazar says women don’t need guns if they “feel like they’re going to be raped” bit.ly/15qwqGB #waronwomen
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 18, 2013

Unless #COLeg Dems swiftly condemn Salazar and he apologizes for his remarks, I’ll assume they endorse this “shut it down” thinking.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 18, 2013

Rapists can’t enter “safe zones.” Didn’t you know? Just like werewolves can’t enter holy ground. #Salazar #COLeg #waronwomen
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 18, 2013

Updated with the ridiculous advice the Univ of Colorado gives to women to avoid attacks. You won’t believe it: bit.ly/15qwqGB #COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 18, 2013

Re. Joe Salazar, the Democrat who made the woman and rape comment, is on Twitter here: @housesalazar . Story: bit.ly/15qwqGB#COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

I’m offended by the sanctioning silence of @cohousedems on @housesalazar ‘s prejudiced remark against women and firearms. #COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

Real #waronwomen: @housesalazar wants to disarm women, leave them at the mercy of attackers because he thinks they can’t handle guns. #COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

Assuming @cohousedems approve of @housesalazar ‘s offensive and sexist characterization of women and rape unless condemned. #COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

Yikes. Still no response from @cohousedems on Rep. Salazar’s truly offensive remark on women and rape bit.ly/15qwqGB #COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

1 in 5 women raped during college years. @housesalazar says they’re too ditzy to handle firearms bit.ly/15qwqGB #COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

1 in 4 college women report rape. bit.ly/XoWuNP @cohousedems want to legislate away a woman’s right to self defense on campus. #COleg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

At this point I’m rather shocked that Dems in #COLeg think it’s permissible for women to even attend college.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

Dana Loesch, you are a disgrace to your own Goddamn gender and to gun owners!

Maybe if women stayed in the kitchen making sandwiches & didn’t go to college, there wouldn’t be a rape problem, right @cohousedems ? #COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

UPDATE: Salazar’s contradictory apology: bit.ly/15qwqGB #COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

It’s a nothingburger apology that ignores the statistics. Salazar justifies his offensive remark by saying it served as an example. #COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

Furthermore, Salazar didn’t rescind his original insinuation that women are too stupid to handle firearms. #COleg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

Shorter Salazar: I’m sorry if you women were offended that I basically said you were too stupid to handle firearms. #COleg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

Shorter Salazer: My essentially saying you women were too stupid to handle firearms was just an example to explain disarmament. #COleg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

For the record, rapists approve of disarming women: danaloeschradio.com/rapists-agree-… #COLeg
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 19, 2013

Another conservative loon on Twitter, @RichardRSmithJr, is making this the “Democrats have a full-blown Todd Akin on their hands” fallacy:

Democrats Have A Full-Blown Akin (@housesalazar) On Their Hands #guncontrol nation.foxnews.com/gun-control/20… via @foxnation via @dloesch @cohousedems
— #IAmAndrewBreitbart(@RichardRSmithJr) February 19, 2013

Fellow Colorado resident and deranged nutjob Michelle Malkin joined in on the Salazar-bashing:

As RedState reports, on Friday, Salazar argued against concealed carry on college campuses in favor of call boxes, whistles and “safe zones.” Why? Because you as a woman might “feel like you’re in trouble when you may actually not be” — better to head to the call box and let a man with a gun decide if the danger is real or not (if he shows up in time, that is).

You are such a crybaby, Dana! Get over it, and no, progressives/liberals/Democrats like Salazar are NOT “anti-gun”, “anti-women”, or “pro-rapist.”

More on Loesch’s idiocy and falsehoods on Guns and the 2nd Amendment:
Dana Busted: NRA shill Loesch falsely accuses Missouri Dems of proposing “gun confiscation”
Dana Busted: Dana Loesch visits CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, tells more tall tales on national TV
Dana Busted: Unhinged Moron Dana Loesch on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight: “There Is No Such Thing As An Assault Weapon”
Dana Busted: Wingnut extraordinaire Dana Loesch attacks Piers Morgan and “anti-gun” liberals
Loesch on KFTK’s The Dana Show: Encouraging her listeners to buy a gun for Christmas

(Cross-posted from DanaBusted.blgospot.com)

With Tuesday’s sweeping pro-LGBT victories in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington state, marriage equality will be the law of the land in eight or nine states and the District of Columbia. Another five states have civil unions laws. The National Organization for Marriage, along with other anti-equality organizations, have lost their principal talking point and can no longer claim that every time voters considered marriage, equality loses — so it seems likely the number of states recognizing same-sex couples will continue to climb in the upcoming year.

There are 12 battleground states that deserve close attention as Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney go head to head in Tuesday’s historic election:

– THE BIG THREE –

OHIO (18 electoral votes)

Perhaps the crucial battleground, the state ravaged by industrial decline has trended Democratic after narrowly deciding the 2004 election for George W. Bush. But Romney has made a strong play for white, working-class voters. No Republican has claimed the White House without also winning Ohio.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Obama up 2.3 percent.

2008: Obama 51 percent, McCain 47 percent.

FLORIDA (29 electoral votes)

The biggest battleground of all, the Sunshine State had the starring role in the chaotic 2000 election and is now struggling to handle large numbers of early voters. State voter ID laws, which required a photo ID to vote, limited some early voting, but parts of the laws have been curtailed by federal courts.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Romney up 1.2 percent.

2008: Obama 51 percent, McCain 48 percent.

VIRGINIA (13 electoral votes)

2008 saw Virginia vote Democratic in a presidential election for the first time since 1964. The state’s affluent and populous north next to Washington has turned blue, but a battle rages in the area around Norfolk, home to several large military bases. With military cuts looming, Romney may have an edge.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Romney up 0.5 percent.

2008: Obama 53 percent, McCain 46 percent.

– THE CLOSE CALLS –

COLORADO (9 electoral votes)

Fueled by an influx of migrants from liberal California and elsewhere, the traditionally Republican mountain state has been trending Democratic. It voted for Obama in 2008, but the incumbent is finding it hard to hold together his winning coalition of women, youth and minorities here.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Obama up 0.5 percent.

2008 result: Barack Obama (D) 53 percent, John McCain (R) 45 percent.

NEW HAMPSHIRE (4 electoral votes)

With the race on a razor’s edge, even tiny New Hampshire is getting extra love from both candidates wooing notoriously independent Granite State voters. Obama has campaigned here this year at least six times, and Romney eight.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Obama up 1.0 percent.

2008: Obama 54 percent, McCain 49 percent

IOWA: (6 electoral votes)

America’s bread basket took Obama to its heart in 2008, when he won the Iowa caucuses to launch his Democratic juggernaut. Romney won this year’s Republican contest — until a recount declared Rick Santorum the winner. Romney is holding tough; its top newspaper just endorsed him, after backing Obama four years ago.

RealClearPolitics polling average: Obama up 1.3 percent.

2008: Obama 54 percent, McCain 45 percent.

NEVADA (6 electoral votes)

America’s gambling capital was sucker-punched by high unemployment and the mortgage foreclosure crisis, and while jobless numbers have improved, they remain high. Obama has built big leads among Hispanic voters, but many Nevadans say he has not turned the economy around fast enough.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Obama up 2.4 percent.

2008: Obama 55 percent, McCain 43 percent.

NORTH CAROLINA (15 electoral votes)

Obama won this traditionally red southeastern state by just a few thousand votes in 2008. The president came out in support of gay marriage this year, while North Carolinians approved an amendment banning it. The issue simmers.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Romney up 3.8 percent

2008: Obama 50 percent, McCain 49.5 percent.

WISCONSIN (10 electoral votes)

Long in the blue column, Wisconsin is now in play, following a tumultuous recall battle over the Republican governor that forced the party to build up a vast political machine there. It’s paying off. Obama’s comfortable lead has shrunk. And Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan, is from the Badger State.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Obama up 4.0 points.

2008: Obama 56 percent, McCain 42 percent.

– POTENTIAL SURPRISES –

PENNSYLVANIA (20 electoral votes)

Polls in this rust-belt state like next-door Ohio showed a safe bet for Obama six weeks ago, but the race has narrowed. Pennsylvania elected a Republican governor and Republican senator in 2010, and support for fracking for natural gas, which Romney advocates, is high in western Pennsylvania.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Obama up 4.6 percent.

2008: Obama 55 percent, McCain 44 percent.

MICHIGAN (16 electoral votes)

Nominally Romney’s home state, Michigan hasn’t voted for a Republican since 1988 and Obama is still the strong favorite here despite recent polls suggesting a tight race. Obama’s bailout of Detroit auto giants GM and Chrysler, opposed by Romney but credited with saving the key industry in the state, could be the deciding factor.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Obama up 3.0 points.

2008: Obama 57 percent, McCain 41 percent

MINNESOTA (10 electoral votes)

One recent poll raised eyebrows when it showed Obama leading by only three points in the normally safe blue territory of Minnesota. There is little doubt the state has moved more to the center from the liberal left in recent election cycles but the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” hasn’t voted for a Republican since the Richard Nixon landslide of 1972.

RealClearPolitics.com polling average: Obama up 5.0 points.

2008: Obama 54.1 percent, McCain 43.8 percent

h/t: The Raw Story

You know, I thought I’d seen the depths of disgusting behavior Romney was capable of — outright dishonesty and lying, accusing people of freeloading when he pays less in taxes than the middle class, insulting wide swaths of the American electorate, attacking Obama for views he’s shared in the past (or now, or in the future; he doesn’t even know what he thinks) — but this might just take the cake. Mitt Romney, during a round table meeting with a teacher, apparently rudely told her, when she tried to speak, that “I didn’t ask you a question.”

h/t: Justin Acuff at AddictingInfo.org