Mazie Hirono Demands Men 'Shut Up And Step Up' In The Face Of Kavanaugh Accusation
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Politics
Mazie Hirono Demands Men 'Shut Up And Step Up' In The Face Of Kavanaugh Accusation
Alanna Vagianos, HuffPost 3 hours ago 
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) has an important message for men in the wake ofSen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) has an important message for men in the wake of the recent sexual assault accusation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh .
“I just want to say to the men in this country, just shut up and step up. Do the right thing for a change,” Hirono said during a press event on Tuesday.
Hirono is part of the Senate Judiciary Committee tasked to hear testimony from Kavanaugh and vote on his nomination. She’s one of only four women on the committee. The hearings, which began earlier this month, have been scheduled to continue next week after Christine Blasey Ford, who goes by Christine Blasey professionally, publicly accused Kavanaugh in a Sunday news story of sexually assaulting her in 1982 during a high school party.
“I expect the men in this country and the men in this committee ... to demand an FBI investigation,” Hirono said earlier in the presser. “But really, guess who’s perpetuating all of these kinds of actions? It’s the men in this country.”
Blasey, a Palo Alto University professor, went public with her identity and full story on Sunday in an explosive interview with The Washington Post . She accused a drunken 17-year-old Kavanaugh of pinning her to a bed and grinding on her, while attempting to take her clothes off. Blasey said when she tried to scream he put his hand over her mouth to silence her. Kavanaugh has “ categorically and unequivocally ” denied Ford’s allegation.
Since Blasey came forward, she and her family have received death threats , forcing them to move from their home.
“Let’s face it, this is so patently unfair to her and what really bothers me and gets me so angry is that the White House is victimizing this person,” Hirono said. “Why don’t we get that out there? Why should we participate in a victimization of someone who has the courage to come forward and she is under absolutely no obligation to participate in a smearing of her and her family.”
President Donald Trump has continued to defend his Supreme Court pick in the face of the accusation, recently adding that he feels “ terribly ” for Kavanaugh. Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by over 20 women .
It is unclear whether Blasey will testify during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing next week, but the professor told The Washington Post in Sunday’s story: “I feel like my civic responsibility is outweighing my anguish and my terror about retaliation.”
- This article originally appeared on HuffPost .
Tags
Who is online
65 visitors
I would like to see how it goes when a male senator tells women to "shut up and step up".
Interesting , well madam senator , I say , let the accusor provide the undeniable proof the accusation is true , which I have serious doubts she has past just the verbal accusation that is being used politically.
it is not for the accused to prove their innoicence , but for the one making the accusation to prove that the accused is guilty, standard procedure in legal circles .
frankly I would like to see a law created that holds those that make accusations that are unprovable criminal, and if you are a parent of a male today , just remember at some time 20-30- or 40 years from now some female can do the same to that male child of yours with no consequence or recourse to be had , ruining their lives just by the accusation.
In other words , if you are prepared to make the accusation , you better be prepared to prove it.
Fat Albert the rapist sure wishes that such a law existed.
Well shrek , I don't think what brought down fat albert was the accusations , but the multiple number of accusations that all had the same storyline and modus operandi. kinda like when my ex wife told me she married a guy that had been married 6 times before he married her , and wasn't for the same reasons from all 6, I asked her so you think your lucky #7 and he wont do to you what he did to them? he "changed" she said …….damn that was hard to type through the tears of laughter....
I see.....so only he said / she said rape cases should be prosecuted when there are dozens and dozens of victims?
How do you ever reach that point if an unprovable accusation is treated as a criminal offense?
I didn't say that now did I? I said that was LIKELY a factor in the case YOU mentioned . which I was discussing with you, fat albert, no other case.
libel and slander laws already exist, they just have no criminal penalties to speak of , usually just monetary , if that . and yes I think a criminal penalty should be added to those laws.
now in the case currently unfolding on a SC nom, there is one accusor , who has offered from what I see no evidence other than to have an accusation and as I have said here and on other posts , I await for her to present evidentiary proof that is sustainable of her accusation , even if it is circumstantial that would warrant a closer look, so far I do not think that has been offered up for consideration.
Why bother to prosecute? Why not just line them up in front of a firing squad as soon as a woman accuses them?
No, what you said was that "the accusers in cases which can't be proven should be held criminally liable." It's a profoundly naive comment which ignores the circumstances of most sexual assaults and it ignores the realities which cause victims to delay reporting an assault sometimes for decades (if ever). It would mean that even fewer sexual assaults would be reported than currently are and cases like Fat Albert's would never ever be brought before a court.
[deleted]
And the criminal liability would and will put the onus of PROOF of guilt squarely where it belongs , on those that make an accusation. instead of the accused having to prove a negative , that it DIDNT happen, years or decades later.
as it is now anyone can make any accusation against anyone with absolutely no real criminal liability for it , even if the accused is found innocent , the taint is still there, and the accusor , walks away smelling of lavender and spice.
and it is not limited to sexual assault , I can ask someone if they still beat their dog , and they reply no, that can be twisted into they at one time DID actually habitually beat their dog , when the fact is they NEVER did in the first place, but what will be remembered is not that they didn't , but that they didn't ANYMORE.
and yes I do think the first thing any person should do before making ANY ACCUSATION alluding someone is guilty of an action , is ask themselves , what exactly can be proved, what evidence can be presented to back up the claim.
I thought we were having a decent conversation on a subject , right up to your last sentence , which is why I flagged it.
No, what you're asking is for even fewer rapes and sexual assaults to be reported. What's your motive for that?
Better yet. About time someone ask the GOP why they want to make pregnancy termination illegal and what the penalties will be if they succeed.
And also, why is it so important to the GOP that 'the conservative' courts to have the power to not check, redress, indict or prosecute a sitting president?
This too. If it can be proven that a judicial nominee lied under oath during confirmation hearings, why isn't that nominee removed from any office they currently hold and prosecuted?
Can we just de annex Hawaii at this point? That whole thing is looking like a bad idea.