The aptly named Representative Gassman is today’s Worst Person in the World for this.
Seven Republicans in the Iowa House are pushing a bill to prohibit parents of minor children from getting a “no fault” divorce, Radio Iowa reports.
Rep. Tedd Gassman (R) explained the issue is “near and dear” to his heart because his daughter and son-in-law recently divorced, putting his granddaughter at risk.
Said Gassman: “There’s a 16-year-old girl in this whole mix now. Guess what? What are the possibilities of her being more promiscuous? What are the possibilities of all these other things surrounding her life that a 16-year-old girl, with hormones raging, can get herself into?”
There are so many layers of awful to this.
First — there’s the idea that the government should force people to remain married. Then there’s the idea that divorce will automatically transform teenage girls into sluts (because they’re already at risk, amirite?). And there’s the part where he announced to the world that his granddaughter is a slutty slut with raging hormones (thanks granddad!). And to top it all off — he seems to be implying that this is an issue for girls but not boys. Boys have raging hormones too, don’t they? Or are we operating on a “boys will be boys” paradigm?
I can only imagine the bullying, the slut-shaming, and the ridicule Gassman’s granddaughter is about to endure at school and on Facebook. And all because her grandfather is an old, misogynistic coot.