Minnesota Public Radio's Riham Feshir reported last Monday in Women share stories of genital mutilation, support bill to fight the procedure
Survivors of female genital mutilation visited the Minnesota State Capitol Monday to share horrific stories of the practice and support a bill that would penalize parents who put their children through the procedure in Minnesota.
The event was put on by America Matters, an organization that describes itself as "an advocacy organization dedicated to safeguarding the American way of life." . . .
The GOP-backed bill, introduced by Rep. Mary Franson [link to bill added] R-Alexandria, made its way to the Minnesota Legislature last year after reports that two Minnesota parents took their 7-year-old girls to Detroit, Mich., to get the procedure done.
"How are the parents not held responsible and how is it that at least one of the children was allowed to go home where this abuse took place?" Franson asked. "That's when I realized that Minnesota law is silent on the parents participating in this violent act." . . .
The procedure is already illegal in Minnesota, but the proposed bill would create a new felony crime for parents who knowingly allow it to happen. The bill passed the House last year with four opposing votes.
Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, assured attendees of the Monday event that the measure would pass the Senate, noting that "it recognizes rights of parents but also the protection of little girls." . . .
U.S. Senate candidate Karin Housley, R-St. Mary's Point, is the author of the companion bill in the Minnesota state senate.The senate companion stalled in the upper chamber.
Not good enough for Trump and Republican activist, cultural warrior and former aspiring "DHS" actress Alley Waterbury, who shared her dismay about the event on Facebook Sunday afternoon, beginning with the graphic used to promote the rally (screengrab at the top of the post with the question "Do any of you see something wrong in this picture?") but veering into conspiratorial thinking about the event organizers' intentions:
Chris Barrett Hmmmm, looks like an average little girl, not one that would be worried about FGM. Why are they trying to make it seem normal.
Alley Waterbury Yep, starting to introduce what’s coming. Hell NO!!
I attended this and it was bizarre it was a very confused message. Makes absolutely no sense to use an American girl who doesn’t even know about it unless you want her to learn about it. . . .Scott Simonson Big gov and the Democrats are Masters at desensitizing Americans too sick perverted Islamic garbage . . .
Landon Miller 1) wrong ethnic girl pictured. (This event wants to deal with the problem but then hides the source of the problem).
2) This is here in MN because Fn liberals imported this.
So there you have it, gentle readers. What does "an American girl" or "an average little girl" look like? What, for that matter, does the girl in the poster "look like"? What is the "right ethnic girl? Is this a test? A dogwhistle?
And how did Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, Senator Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, become Democrats who are "Masters at desensitizing Americans too sick perverted Islamic garbage"?
Inquiring minds want to know. Indeed, given that the House voted overwhelmingly on an bipartisan basis for the bill--only four legislators cast no votes--it's just as hard to understand how Minnesota Democrats support FGM as it is to see Franson and Limmer as liberal Democrats. How did these folks come to define FGM as "liberal"? Bath salts, anyone?
Franson recently received an honorable mention from the ultra-conservative Legislative Evaluation Assembly, while Warren Limmer is a reliable conservative perhaps best known as the failed 2012 amendment ballot question to ban same-sex marriage--and Housley's running against Senator Tina Smith for the old Franken seat but perhaps they all could have become "Fn liberals" while the blizzard raged this weekend.
We're also puzzled how an organized campaign acting to pass additional penalties for FGM is in fact "normalizing" the practice, but perhaps this bunch is smarter than we know when it comes to what "ethnic" people are supposed to look like. And how politicians are sneaky.
To read more about the history of the bill, we recommend two articles from the Star Tribune in 2017, Minnesota House cracks down on female genital mutilation and Minnesota bill against female genital mutilation raises opposition. To see how last year's bill was used to attack a Muslim legislator check out Anatomy of a smear: Geller FGM post states ". . .MUSLIM legislators OPPOSE Minnesota bill".
For more on Alley Waterbury, we recommend our earlier post, Pro-Trump activist concerned about MN precinct caucus training has inspirational backstory. (Waterbury's Facebook post objecting to Muslims attending Republican precinct caucuses was, in fact, the one shared by state representative Kathy Lohmer--see image at bottom of post-- although the press incorrectly sources it to a Republican CD chair).
Screengrab: Apparently it's evidence of a Big Fn Liberal Conspiracy to Make Little Girls Know About FGM if the picture on a poster isn't "ethnic" enough.
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