Delaware GOP lawmakers condemn Democrat’s comments during committee hearing

DOVER, Del. – Delaware House Republicans are rebuking one of their Democratic colleagues over comments made during a recent committee hearing.

Speaking last week in support of a bill he is sponsoring, State Rep. Eric Morrison (D-Glasgow) made statements that the Delaware House GOP Caucus has described as “disturbing and provocative.”

The incident occurred during last Wednesday’s hearing of the House Education Committee, which was considering House Bill 290 – a bill that seeks to allow convicted violent felons to qualify for Delaware’s SEED Scholarship Program. Currently, felons are barred from accessing this taxpayer-financed scholarship.

Delaware law clearly specifies more than 70 different offenses as “violent felonies,” including carjacking, hate crimes, stalking, arson, human trafficking, kidnapping, bestiality, murder, strangulation, and rape.

During the lengthy debate of the proposal, Rep. Morrison made a slew of statements debating what constitutes as a violent crime. In the process, his Republican colleagues feel he minimalized rape.

“I’ve done a lot of reading about this and worked on legislation that’s not being introduced this year about it — when we’re talking about sex offenders, we have a whole lot of misconceptions about who they are and who they are not,” Rep. Morrison said in part. “And when we see rape in the law or rape in the newspaper, we picture that, generally, a man grabbed a woman off the street, dragged her back to his apartment, and violently raped her. And in the vast majority of those cases, that’s not the case.”

Rep. Morrison went on to talk about statutory rape specifically and brought up a hypothetical example of a 31-year-old having sex with a 17-year-old.

“We’re talking about statutory rape, and we’re not talking about violent rape,” Rep. Morrison stated during the meeting. “We’re talking about — and I know that I’m not, in a sense, using the word ‘consent’ properly — but we’re talking about two people who consented to it. So, you know, we do have the Romeo and Juliet laws in Delaware, so you could be talking, for example, about a 31-year-old who had — quote, unquote — consensual sex with a 17-year-old, and then they are arrested, and they are charged with a certain degree of rape, but it’s not rape in the way in which we think of it. And when we see these rape cases, the vast majority of those are of that ilk.”

Now, a week later, Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives joined together to issue a statement Wednesday where they vehemently condemned the lawmaker’s comments, saying in part quote:

“While Rep. Morrison is factually wrong–racketeering, extortion, and bestiality often involve violence–our antipathy for his declaration centers on his views of sexual assault and rape. His belief that most sex offenders are being victimized by ‘a whole lot of misconceptions’ is only surpassed by his casual dismissal of the mental and physical trauma suffered by the victims of sex crimes he perceives as non-violent. It would be concerning for any citizen to exhibit such hubris, but for a lawmaker, it strikes us as dangerously misguided.”

WMDT News followed up with Delaware House Republicans and spoke to State Rep. Valerie Jones Giltner who strongly condemned her colleagues remarks.

“As a Mom, a nurse, and as a Representative, it was shocking and appalling to hear him not only minimalize rape,” Rep. Jones Giltner explained. “He shared that he didn’t think that rape was what we thought of it as and that because we have this Romeo & Juliet law, the statutory rape law on the Delaware books, that sex between a 31-year-old and a 17-year-old wasn’t really considered, if it was consensual, considered rape.”

Rep. Jones Giltner then went on to lambast her Democratic colleagues across the aisle for not speaking out to condemn their colleague’s remarks.

“I think that’s what we’re talking about here is normalizing some of these behaviors, and then rewarding with a scholarship,” Rep. Jones Giltner said. “And so, as we sit here, almost a week later, after that committee meeting, to not hear any rebuke, to not hear his own caucus condemn his statements, is very concerning to us.”

We reached out to Rep. Eric Morrison for a response to the condemnation following his remarks. He apologized and said it was never his intention to minimize the seriousness of rape:

“After engaging in discussions with advocates, community members, and my colleagues, I realize that my comments in the House Education Committee were triggering and upsetting for many individuals. I did not express well what I meant to express. For that, I extend my sincerest apologies. Of course, it was never my intention to minimize the seriousness of rape. I wholeheartedly acknowledge the profound trauma and devastation that sexual assault inflicts upon survivors.

“That’s why during my time as an elected official, I’ve taken great pride in collaborating with advocacy groups to champion legislation aimed at safeguarding survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, such as HB 151 which allows domestic violence victims to request protective orders based on financial abuse; HB 327, the “Speak Your Truth Act,” to protect victims of sexual assault from retaliatory lawsuits filed by their abusers; and HB 17, which in part requires that employers grant employees time off to handle and escape from domestic violence situations.

“I appreciate hearing from individuals and organizations about my comments in committee. I will continue working on and supporting policies that empower and protect survivors of sexual assault.”