N.H. Men Don Pearls To Show Moms Who Oppose Gun Murders Are Stupid And Dumb

Moms Demand Action is a grassroots organization that advocates for sensible solutions to gun violence (i.e. not more guns). Concerned citizens came out to the New Hampshire State House today to show their support for House Bill 687. The "red flag" legislation would help keep guns out of the hands of people who are an immediate threat to themselves and others. Gun rights advocates hate HB687, probably because it would keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, whose money is as good as anyone else's.
Women shared heart-rending stories about the personal impact of gun violence on their lives. Meanwhile, some of the male pro-gun lawmakers thought it would be cool to wear strings of cheap pearls to mock the Moms Demand Action volunteers. Happy Women's History Month! We guess Turning Points USA bogarted the diapers.
Male New Hampshire lawmakers on the hearing committee wearing pearls to mock @MomsDemand volunteers and gun safety… https://t.co/pe3xIJIdqr— Shannon Watts (@Shannon Watts) 1551798735.0
This is repulsive, petty sexist bullshit. It is also not shocking. Gun lovers have attacked and ridiculed the survivors of school shootings, so what's mocking full-grown, adult women when there's only a screaming, empty void where your soul should be?
This was obviously intentional and easily avoidable. Just one heroic intern couldn't prevented it: "Yeah, I totally went to the fake pearl store like you asked. They, uh, were all out."
What were these jackasses hoping to achieve? Were the pearls meant to remind everyone on the committee that the Moms Demand Action volunteers were in fact not men so no one should bother listening to them? The New Hampshire State House isn't a restricted club from the 1950s. Women have legally voted and openly influenced public policy for roughly a century now. They get to say stuff.
Today is Fat Tuesday, so some have argued that the male legislators aren't wearing pearls at all but rather Mardi Gras beads.
Collect beads, not problems. Don’t drive drunk this Mardi Gras. #BuzzedDriving #MardiGras https://t.co/9uM434wOnU— NHTSA (@NHTSA) 1551722460.0
How festive! Except Mardi Gras beads are usually more diverse in color. Did these guys get trashed and flash their boobs at a Trump rally? Mardi Gras beads also tend to be longer and have a larger loop pattern and, oh for fuck's sake, why are we even entertaining this? The assholes are wearing pearls. Just look at them!
Of the 13 person ERPO hearing committee, 10 of the lawmakers are men; half of them are wearing pearls to mock… https://t.co/mNaBJyJTim— Shannon Watts (@Shannon Watts) 1551801974.0
If you actually ended Fat Tuesday with just one lone white bead, you clearly failed at Mardi Gras. An Amish lady whose buggy broke down on Bourbon Street would probably make it out of town with at least four or five colorful beads.
David Solomon of the New Hampshire Union Leader said that "both sides" came to the hearing with "their symbols." See, the women of Moms Demand Action wore red t-shirts as a show of unity and the pro-gun folks wore white pearls to mock them. That is ... not at all the same thing.
Not surprisingly, this silliness did not prevent the Moms Demand Action volunteers from speaking out and trying to make the country a moderately safer place. This should not make them a target for ridicule and disrespect. If you'd like to express your disgust at the lawmakers' unprofessional behavior, you should call Speaker of the House Steve Shurtleff, whose office number is 603-271-3661.
Here's hoping this was a gross fluke and Women's History Month won't become the moonwalking disaster this year's Black History Month was.
Follow Stephen Robinson on Twitter.
Yr Wonkette is supported by reader donations. Please send us money to keep the writers paid and the servers humming. Thank you, we love you!
Stephen Robinson is a writer and social kibbitzer based in Portland, Oregon. He writes make believe for Cafe Nordo, an immersive theatre space in Seattle. Once, he wrote a novel called “Mahogany Slade,” which you should read or at least buy. He's also on the board of the Portland Playhouse theatre. His son describes him as a “play typer guy."