Rep. Dan Young (R-Alaska) lost his temper during a debate with Rep. Jim Moran (D-Virginia) over a bill that Moran introduced that would have banned the baiting of bears on federal lands.
Young said to Moran,
I wish I had my native people in here right no. You’d walk out of here with no head on.
Young has a history with Moran — back in 1998 during debate over a bill that woudl have restricted the kinds of trapst that could be used on federal lands, Young made an obscene hand gesture at Moran.
An animal rights activist who posted an account of thi latest exchange to an animal rights mailing list noted,
If an animal rights activist said what Young said, she’d be charged with making a “terrorist threat.”
Of course your average animal rights activist wouldn’t be speaking on the floor of the House as a member of that body where she would have a great deal of legal protection thanks to the Speech & Debate Clause. But the observation is spot on — this sort of behavior would not be tolerated if it came from Ingrid Newkirk, and it shouldn’t be tolerated from Young either.
Moran later withdrew his bill when it became apparent it would not make it out of committee.
Sources:
Lawmakers tussle over bear baiting. TheDenverChannel.Com, June 13, 2003.
Toward a more polite Don Young. The Juneau Empire, July 22, 1999.
Congressman Pulls Bill Restricting Bear Hunting. Robert B. Bluey, CNSNews, July 11, 2003.
Alaskan congressman envisions Moran ‘with no head on’. Associated Press, June 13, 2003.