State senator Jim Honeyford: "I said the poor are more likely to commit crimes, and, uh, colored most likely to be poor."

Just when you thought politicians couldn't get any more backwards, someone like Jim Honeyford comes along. Jim Honeyford is a politician of the Republican Party and is a member of the Washington State Senate. 

During a committee hearing last Thursday, a proposal was made that would require the state to implement racial impact statements on legislation when requested by lawmakers.Apparently, the simple proposal was too complicated for any of the Republicans to understand as you can see in David Ferguson’s Raw Story article:

“I guess I don’t understand,” said Sen. Barbara Bailey (R), “why our laws that we already have don’t already have the oversight of this particular situation that you’re talking about. So are you indicating that we would then change our laws, that if you are someone of color and you commit a crime, that your sentence would be different than someone who is not of color?”

Honeyford — who represents a majority-Latino district — said, “It’s generally accepted that the poor are more likely to commit crimes. And generally, I think, accepted that people of color are more likely poor than not. So how does that factor into your equation?”

Democratic Sen. Bob Hasegawa said, “It’s probably true that there’s more people of color in jails or facing prosecutions. But these types of analyses will help us get to the root of what is actually causing that kind of disparate treatment.”

“I want to correct what I said,” Honeyford countered. “I said the poor are more likely to commit crimes, and, uh, colored most likely to be poor. I didn’t say anything else other than that. And I believe that’s an accepted fact, and if you check any of your sociology books or anything else you’ll find that’s an accepted fact of our society.”

I don’t know about you, but I would sleep better at night knowing these people no longer had any say in government policies.

-Saher K. Off The Grid Team

 

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