Chambliss Under Fire Over Sexual Assault Remarks

Tells Senate "hormone level" may contribute to military abuse
By Ruth Brown,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 5, 2013 9:00 AM CDT
Chambliss Under Fire Over Sexual Assault Remarks
Sen. Saxby Chambliss.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Saxby Chambliss is being slammed today for suggesting hormones might be the cause of sexual assault in the military, reports CNN. "The young folks that are coming into each of your services are anywhere from 17 to 22-23. Gee whiz—the hormone level created by nature sets in place the possibility for these types of things to occur," the Georgia Republican told the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing yesterday. That's the kind of response you're going to get when "elderly white men" are in charge of fixing this problem, writes Katty Kay at the BBC. And it demonstrates why the military hierarchy, full of commanding officers who may well agree with Chambliss, shouldn't be the ones prosecuting sexual assault, adds Amanda Marcotte at Slate.

"For a United States senator or anyone to write off sexual assault and the personal violation of a woman or man to raging the hormones of youth shows just how dramatically out of touch the Republican Party is," DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told MSNBC, as per Politico. The criticism is coming from Republicans, too. "Perpetuating this line of thinking does nothing to help change the culture of our military," says Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, co-chairman of the military sexual assault prevention caucus. "We must be focused on combating this issue directly." Finally, the New Yorker responds with a satirical piece, in which Chambliss blames his remarks on "declining levels of brain function created by nature." (More sexual assault stories.)

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