Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Texas District Attorney Candidate: Domestic Violence Is 'So, So Overrated'

Lloyd Oliver, a Democratic candidate for district attorney in Harris County, Texas, has a problem with domestic violence: He thinks it's prosecuted too much.

Oliver told the Texas Observer Wednesday that domestic violence is "so, so overrated." If elected, he indicated he'd redirect resources away from family violence to focus on other issues.

Harris County has the highest rate of domestic violence homicides in the state. According to a report by the Texas Council on Family Violence, 30 women were murdered by intimate partners in 2012.

Oliver lost the district attorney's race in 2012 narrowly. After winning the Democratic primary, he came within five points of winning the district attorney's seat.

This isn't the first time Oliver has come under fire for comments on domestic violence.

In a 2012 appearance on "Reasonable Doubts," a weekly call-in show sponsored by the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, Oliver said domestic violence victims should "maybe learn how to box a little better."

Later, when asked to clarify, he suggested domestic violence is part of some couple's sexual routine.

"There are some people -- I don't understand it -- but part of their making love is to beat one another up first," he said. "Why do we want to get involved in people's bedrooms?"

Oliver faces Kim Ogg, a former prosecutor, in the Democratic primary on March 4.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: The Huffington Post  | by  Melissa Jeltsen

No comments:

Post a Comment