LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — Debate in the Unicameral can sometimes go off the rails.
During Monday evening’s floor debate Senator Steve Halloran decided to shock his colleagues by reading a excerpt from the book Lucky, a 1998 memoir where author Alice Sebold describes her experience of being raped and beaten during her freshman year of college…
The language was graphic, but the debate took on a whole new character when Halloran decided to insert some of his fellow senators into the narrative…
“I was grounded on the ground trying to search about the filth of my clothes…he kicked me and I curled into a ball. I want a blow job senator Cavanaugh…
“Put it in your mouth, I kneeled before him. Senator Cavanaugh,” said Halloran during Monday evening's debate.
The backlash to Halloran’s comments was immediate.
Senator Machaela Cavanaugh called the comments disgusting, inappropriate and out of line and Speaker John Arch moved to adjourn the body early just a few minutes later.
“I think it’s cheap shots, its people who can’t make an argument in support of their idea so they attack other people personally,” said Senator John Cavanaugh, the brother of Senator Michaela Cavanaugh.
On Tuesday, during a motion to overrule the agenda to discuss his comments, Halloran attempted to apologize.
First telling the body that he was actually referencing Senator John Cavanaugh before doubling down, telling senators their outrage should be directed at the book and not his excerpts.
“That’s what we should be outraged about, it was a blow by blow lesson on how to rape a woman. That’s where the outrage should be, not my pointing it out that it’s in a book,” said Halloran.
That half hearted apology wasn’t enough for many of Halloran’s colleagues who said his comments went beyond the pale of a legislative discussion.
“We can’t have HR policy because this place is special? This place is special because it’s the one place in the state of Nebraska and talk about raping a colleague and not have any professional consequences. We have to do better and we can’t just let this go. We owe it to the little girls watching at home wanting to be something like this when they grow up. We owe it to every Nebraska because it’s the most public workplace in the state and we deserve for it to be a professional workplace. Senator Halloran you should be ashamed of yourself for being incapable of apologizing. There is no justification for your actions and you should resign,” said Senator Julie Slama.
