We should support Cobb-Hunter

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter should receive more support in the aftermath of her assault by a fellow house member. One of the rare bright spots in South Carolina is the way she has championed those unable to fight for themselves, including abused women and children, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community and those seeking to preserve their reproductive rights.

It’s appalling that House Speaker Jay Lucas decided that she was at least partially responsible. Is a sexual assault victim to blame if she wore a short skirt? Would Rep. Cobb-Hunter have gotten justice had she been white? I urge everyone wanting answers to contact Speaker Lucas directly at 506 Blatt Building, Columbia, SC 29201.

I challenge those afraid to question the speaker to embrace one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.: “Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But, conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.”

This story was originally published September 4, 2017 at 6:43 PM with the headline "We should support Cobb-Hunter."