South Carolina’s lone female state senator had a message for women Tuesday as she responded to a male colleague’s apology for an offensive remark.
“(Y)ou will experience roadblocks and challenges,” state Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, said from the Senate’s podium. “Don't be discouraged. Don’t give up.
“And don’t you dare let anyone tell you that you are less than what you are. We need you to help solve the problems we face. South Carolina needs you to step up and lead.”
The first-term senator’s comments came immediately after state Sen. Tom Corbin, R-Greenville, took the Senate’s podium to apologize to Shealy for offending her over dinner at a Columbia restaurant last week.
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“At the time, we were all talking and laughing about a myriad of topics,” Corbin said. “(I)n jest, I repeated an old joke I had heard.
“I realize now that it offended one of our members,” Corbin said, directing a public apology to Shealy.
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The “joke” Corbin made was that women are inferior because they are a “lesser cut of meat,” referring to the passage in the Bible saying God made Eve from Adam’s rib. Shealy said she has told Corbin that his jokes are not funny and asked him to stop.
Corbin said Tuesday he considered Shealy, who sat next to him for two years in the Senate, a “friend and colleague.” The two pick on one another, he said.
Addressing the Senate after Corbin, Shealy said she accepted the Greenville Republican’s apology as sincere.
“But as I speak for myself and all women – these type remarks are never acceptable in public or in private. ... (W)hether the person speaking them thinks they are in jest or not, these words are hurtful and disrespectful. We are all created equal and, as such, deserve respect.”
Shealy said she “worked (her) tail off” to win a seat in the Senate, beating longtime GOP Lexington incumbent Jake Knotts. She also said she was proud women are in the governor’s office and S.C. House, where 22 women are representatives.
Later Tuesday, Corbin said he thinks Shealy’s displeasure with him stems from his opposition to parts of a criminal domestic violence bill that Shealy supports. Corbin says that bill goes too far, preventing some offenders from having guns.
Corbin repeated he “should not have told the joke,” adding it was “in poor taste” and not directed at Shealy. “(B)ut ... she chose to be offended and make a big deal out of all this.”
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