Stop the Madness in Pierre!

South Dakotans pride themselves on being full of common sense. Historically, we’ve sat back and laughed at the ridiculous laws passed by “ultra-liberal” states such as California, or the hayseed ultra-conservative hicks down south. We tell ourselves we’re above that sort of silliness.

There’s no more laughing these days, as we’re looking more and more idiotic every day our Legislature is in session. First there was the grandstanding with the bill that required all adults to own a gun, followed by the lunacy of anti-immigration legislation in a state that is one of the last places any Mexican residents would want to hide. Those are just two of the bills in the initial flurry of moronic activity in the state capital.

One would think that they’d just stop these games after seeing the derisive names people all over the country were now calling our representatives. Instead, the situation is just getting more and more surreal every day. It’s pretty sad that I am forced to spend a good portion of the day apologizing to former residents and long-distance pals for the actions of these clowns.

This week started with Roger Hunt once again getting involved with the reproductive organs of the opposite sex. Why oh why is he so obsessed with the body part that rhymes with his last name? Actually, I’d like to call him by that name, but I’m keeping this as PG as possible.

Cu..I mean Hunt now wants to ban surrogacy arrangements. Wait, what? Mr. Family Values actually wants to prevent the creation of families? If that concept alone doesn’t offend you, then the Argus article that outlines his proposal should make you want to march right down to his office. Apparently, it’s not couples with reproductive issues that desire surrogates. No, it’s “models” who can’t stomach the idea of stretch marks (pun intended), and men who want babies without the hassle of a relationship. What?

Yet that is not the worst bill to be introduced this week. According to Mother Jones, House Bill 1171 would “expand the definition of ‘justifiable homicide’ to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus—a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions”. WTF? While sponsor Phil Jenson claims that this is not the case, and that the bill is designed to just clean up some language in the existing law, many say this is indeed an “invitation to murder abortion providers”.

Sure, the bill was initially introduced to do just that, but in a hearing last week the term “unborn child” was added to the language after testimony from members of noted anti-abortion groups. You’d have to be a fool to wonder why.

It’s time to stop the madness. Call your representatives. Write them letters. Demand that they do the real work of finding ways to fix our state’s financial hole. Most of these people were elected under the guise of fiscally responsible believers of small government. Instead of working on the budget, they’re working on bills that not only impede on our private lives but have the potential to cost our state millions of dollars in court challenges. Now is not the time to create a furor to get their ugly mugs on cable news. It’s the time to use common sense to make us the standard that other small states admire and imitate.