GOP Rep. Buddy Carter: We'll Help Clear Rape Kit Backlogs 'Unless They're a Sanctuary City' 

By Ellie Shechet  |  August 11, 2017 | 5:00pm
Politics

Republican Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, a hardline Obamacare critic who recently recommended that someone “snatch a knot” in Lisa Murkowski’s “ass,” has been taking heat in a round of town hall events in Georgia, although he—like many of his colleagues—remains as impervious as ever to the very good points made by some of his constituents.

Since town hall events began exploding following Trump’s inauguration and GOP attempts to gut Obamacare, voters have pushed through the Trump fatigue and continued to hold their representatives’ feet to the fire. The Washington Post highlighted a particularly extreme comment made at a town hall event held by Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), who voted in favor of the AHCA.

“I hope you suffer the same painful fate as those millions that you have voted to remove health care from,” a constituent told him. “May you die in pain.”

Kathryn Shelton, a Georgia voter who was at Rep. Carter’s August 8 town hall in Homerville, Georgia, sent Jezebel a video of Carter giving a remarkable response to an attendee’s question about the state’s rape kit backlog (which, as of January 2017, includes 10,314 untested kits).

“What can you do as a congressman to help Georgia process these rape kits?” a woman asks in the video. (The version below has been cut down for length.)


“There are grants available, and we’ll do everything we can to help,” Carter replied, after some prodding. “Unless they’re a sanctuary city,” he laughed.

Shelton followed up on this response a few minutes later. “Were you serious about the sanctuary city remark, or was that just a joke? Like, you wouldn’t provide grants to test rape kits if it was a sanctuary city?”

“No, we do not, I voted for a bill that does not allow federal law enforcement grants to go to any sanctuary cities, I was very serious about that,” Carter replied.

“Do you feel like that serves your constituents?” Shelton asked.

“Yes, it does,” Carter said. “It does serve my constituents, because if you’re a sanctuary city, that means you are refusing to enforce our immigration laws here in the United States, and if you’re doing that then I don’t want to be sending you any federal grants to go to your city.”

At least 33 states considered legislation this year aimed at undercutting sanctuary city policies, which immigration and law enforcement experts say actually undermines public safety by redirecting resources and severing ties with potential witnesses to crimes. It’s unclear who, exactly, Carter is interested in punishing in this particular scenario, since it’s rape victims—not law enforcement, or government officials—who would be most impacted here.

The Washington Post reports that at another town hall event, Carter—who is holding nine town hall events, the most of any of his colleagues in the House—was equally blunt about his feelings on the president’s impromptu ban against transgender individuals in the military.

“I don’t want ’em serving in the military,” Carter said, as dozens of constituents booed and more than a dozen walked out. “I’m sorry.”

Just a wild guess, but it seems like Buddy Carter is probably not sorry. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 
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