Bigotry and prejudice shows up in surprising places. For instance, the Washington State Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib refused to preside over the governor's State of the State address Tuesday because he "felt vulnerable" in the House chamber. Why did the Democrat Lt. Gov. "feel vulnerable"? Because licensed good guys can carry concealed weapons in the galleries.
Yes, just as closed-minded white women might have "felt vulnerable" sitting next to black men in the 1950s and 1960s, Cyrus Habib practices his own bigoted prejudice today. Only this time, instead of irrational racial bigotry against blacks, Cyrus Habib practices irrational bigotry against gun owners. Specifically, good guy gun owners who have undergone thorough background investigations and demonstrated themselves as law-abiding residents.
All the while, Lt. Gov. Habib's Democrat party proudly proclaims itself the party of inclusion and diversity. From their 2016 platform preamble:
Above all, Democrats are the party of inclusion. We know that diversity is not our problem—it is our promise. As Democrats, we respect differences of perspective and belief, and pledge to work together to move this country forward, even when we disagree. With this platform, we do not merely seek common ground—we strive to reach higher ground.
Clearly Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib doesn't respect differences of perspective or belief. And instead of working together to move our country forward, he has a child-like temper tantrum and takes his ball and goes home. His obstinate refusal to participate in the traditional role of his office diminishes the stature of his office with his personal bigotry.
OLYMPIA — Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib did not preside at the governor’s address to a joint session of the Legislature on Tuesday because he felt vulnerable in the House chamber, where people can carry concealed weapons in the public galleries.
“There is no specific threat to me. There is no specific threat we know of, period,” he said before the governor’s speech. “It’s about the policy.”
Habib’s office issued a formal statement less than two hours before the event which read: “Safety protocol could not be agreed upon between the House and Senate for the State of State ceremony. Given that the ceremony takes place in the House chamber, deference goes to House leadership to follow their protocol.”
Of course, the State of the State address happened without Habib and his irrational, immature fears. Those with greater courage and far less bigotry against their fellow law-abiding Washingtonians forged ahead without the traditional leader of joint sessions of the Washington State legislature.
Rep. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, the speaker pro tem in the House, presided in Habib’s absence when Gov. Jay Inslee delivered the annual State of the State speech at noon.
The annual event, which was held in the chamber of the House of Representatives, was attended by the nine state Supreme Court justices and every statewide elected official — except Habib.
Mr. Habib, a child of Iranian immigrants to the United States, would never have won the Lt. Governor's race if the rest of America practiced the same bigotry against immigrants that he's showing against gun owners.
