Las Vegas, NE–“Andrew Brownson, one of the Republicans challenging Allen, said it would not be appropriate to ask or force her to resign for her ‘personal habits.’
“‘I don’t believe in that,’ said Brownson.”
According to the UPI, “Assemblywoman Francis Allen (pictured), R-Las Vegas, is accused of using a steak knife to stab Paul Maineri in the forearm…[Allen] said she stabbed her husband because he embarrassed her in front of friends…Maineri told police his wife of seven weeks refused to get help for him so he drove himself to the hospital.”
Nevertheless, Allen’s male colleagues don’t seem to be holding it against her. Joseph K. Cooper interviewed Allen’s fellow legislators and also Allen’s rival candidate in an upcoming election in his upbeat article Facing felony charge, Allen continues legislative work (5/21/08). Asked about Allen’s arrest for battery with a deadly weapon, no legislator expressed concern over the stabbing victim or even alluded to the seriousness of domestic violence.
To be fair, one can understand and appreciate the legislators’ hesitance to rush to judgment about their colleague. But I doubt if a male legislator were arrested for stabbing his wife his colleagues would be so upbeat and positive. And were a male legislator to refer to the stabbing as a “personal habit” he didn’t think should be made an issue of, one can bet there’d be a storm of feminist protest, and the legislator would be forced to make a humiliating public apology.
[Note: If you or someone you love is being abused, the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women provides crisis intervention and support services to victims of domestic violence and their families.]