A Nebraska Republican legislator horrified colleagues by substituting in some of their names into a graphic account of a rape from a novel.
State Sen. Steve Halloran (R-Hastings) read an excerpt from the novel "Lucky," by Alice Seabold, during a debate over an obscenity bill but apparently tried to make a point by substituting in the name of state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh (D-Omaha) to graphic scenes of sexual violence, reported the Nebraska Examiner.
“That was so out of line and unnecessary and disgusting to say my name over and over again like that,” said Machaela Cavanaugh said.
“You don’t know anything about anyone else’s life, and I can tell you that women in this body have been subjected to sexual violence,” she added. “I didn’t know you were capable of such cruelty. That was so unbecoming of you and unbecoming of this
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Halloran did not use her first name and didn't make clear whether he meant Machaela Cavanaugh, who had spoke out in opposition to the bill seeking to crack down on supposedly obscene materials in schools, or her brother John Cavanaugh, who also serves in the state Senate, but others seemed to understand whom he meant and called for his resignation.
"Honestly, I think Halloran should resign," said state Sen. Megan Hunt (D-Omaha). "How dare he even form his mouth to say the words 'Give me a blow job Senator Cavanaugh.' He said that because he wanted to say it. It was beyond the pale. Pure aggression to read a rape scene out loud and put it like that. Broken brain."
State Sen. Julie Slama (R-Dunbar) also called on him to step down.
“Disgusting,” Slama wrote in a tweet to Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh. “No context makes this appropriate.”
Halloran warned colleagues and livestream viewers he would be quoting from hearing testimony from last year, when a person testifying read passages from "Lucky" that graphically depicts a rape the author survived in college, and his recitation lasted about 83 seconds.
“We talked about, ‘My kids haven’t experienced this in my school' – doesn’t matter,” Halloran said. “If it’s just one school that experiences this (it’s) one too many.”
"Lucky" was one of the most banned books in the country during the 2021-2022 school year, and both the public speaker from last year and Halloran read from it to support Legislative Bill 441 sponsored by state Sen. Joni Albrect (R-Thurston), who was out of the room at the time but later said she was "mortified" that Cavanaugh's name was invoked.
“I don’t want to listen to this, but deep down inside, this is what’s happening,” Albrecht said. “I will be the first to stand up and say I’m sorry — I’m sorry that we even have to read anything like this.”
In an email obtained by the Examiner, Halloran describes the passage as a "'how to rape' lesson" and said his only regret is that "liberals" are not upset the book was in school libraries, and he told a Nebraska teacher in another email that he was referring to Cavanaugh's brother.
“If you would have listened closely, I was addressing her lawyer brother … John!” Halloran wrote.
Sen. Michaela Cavanaugh, however, cast doubt on his claim and said it was a distinction without a difference.
"He invoked both of our names at the start and then dropped the first name," she posted on X. "Whichever one of us this assault was meant for does make it less horrific — though I believe it was directed at me. Men can also be victims of assault and his response is dismissive of that fact."
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