Marshall opposed to “sex pills.”

Bob “Freakshow” Marshall attempted to block Governor Mark Warner’s appointments to the James Madison University Board of Visitors. JMU was the site of the last Marshall show-down: it was there that Marshall convicted then-board-member (now General Assembly member) Mark Obenshain to push to have the morning-after pill banned. If I may quote from myself, from September of last year:

“Obenshain was on the Board of Visitors at James Madison University until a few months ago. This spring, Marshall started sending letters to colleges around the state, including JMU, demanding that they stop providing birth control pills in the concentrated form known as “morning after pills.” These emergency contraceptives have the effect of a few birth control pills, and are taken in case pregnancy may occur, as in the case of condom breakage or rape. They are only effective when taken prior to the implantation of a fertilized egg in the wall of the uterus — that is, prior to pregnancy. They’re not abortion pills, and have nothing to do with drugs like RU-486. Marshall was upset that these were being made available to adults attending colleges in Virginia, because his religion eschews the use of birth control. At most colleges, such as the University of Virginia, Marshall was told to shove it. But not at JMU. Mark Obenshain, a man who has never made any secret about his political aspirations, saw an opening. He planned to run for the State Senate in the November 2003 election, and knew an opportunity when he saw it. Obenshain persuaded his fellow Board of Visitors members to see things Marshall’s way, and they immediately halted the availablility of morning-after pills at JMU. Obenshain argued that not only should JMU not be giving out morning-after pills, but he didn’t think that any colleges should be providing birth control of any sort.”

All of this is part of the plan of Marshall (and his buddies Obenshain and Delegate Dick Black) to ban birth control in Virginia.

So, Marshall tried to block Warner’s appointees to JMU’s board. Writes Bob Gibson in the Daily Progress:

“‘This is no business of a university, passing out these sex pills,’ Marshall said after criticizing JMU President Linwood Rose for being ‘too important to meet with a member of the House of Delegates’ when the Manassas Republican said he asked Rose for a meeting last year.

[…]

“Earlier Tuesday, the House revived a bill that would require public schools to instruct students in Family Life Education classes that emergency contraceptives can be used to prevent pregnancy after a rape.

[…]

“Marshall held up a photo showing a woman he said was conceived in a rape and asked colleagues who favored Dillard’s bill if they would be willing to call her and tell her ‘she was a mistake.'”

“Sex pills.” Seriously, the man calls birth control “sex pills.” (Apparently laboring under the impression that it’s 1954, he also calls female college students “coeds.”) What’s amazing is that this nutcase continues to get reelected. Apparently, a majority of the population of Manassas agrees with with this walking freak show. Either that, or they’re so stupid that they just punch the button by the name with the “(R)” next to it.

And we wonder why we can’t get a budget passed in this state. Freakshow and Friends™ are wasting the General Assembly’s time on these nonsense bills, while we’re hundreds of millions of dollars in the hole. None of them have any solutions to any real problems in the state, so they spend their time inventing new “problems” and offering “solutions” to them. Way to go, guys.

Published by Waldo Jaquith

Waldo Jaquith (JAKE-with) is an open government technologist who lives near Char­lottes­­ville, VA, USA. more »