A US REPUBLICAN lawmaker who was criticised for creating a misogynistic online forum has resigned, citing concerns for the safety of his loved ones and himself.
The resignation of Rep. Robert Fisher came shortly after his Republican colleagues voted to recommend the full House take no action against him and after Democrats said they would ask the attorney general to investigate him.
Fisher had come under fire after a recent article on The Daily Beast revealed him as the creator of a Reddit forum called The Red Pill, which bills itself as a discussion of sexual strategies for men and includes a post in which users debate whether “every woman wants to be attractive enough to be raped.”
He resigned less than an hour after a Republican-led committee voted 8-6 along party lines to recommend that the full House take no action against him.
“Unfortunately, the falsehoods, lies and comments of an overzealous blogger and some of my colleagues have created a situation where I must genuinely consider the safety and wellbeing of my girlfriend, my family, and myself,” he said in an email.
I’m happy that the House committee stood firm for free speech today, it is with a heavy heart that I will be unable to complete my term.
The panel simultaneously recommended no action against Democratic Rep. Sherry Frost, who wrote on Twitter that men telling her to calm down makes her homicidal and that white Christian men represent a terrorist problem.
Fisher, 31, said that in his early 20s he went through a “nightmare situation” where “false rape accusations became a very real concern.”
He told the committee he doesn’t hate women or condone rape, and he believes it’s a waste of lawmakers’ time to dig into his past comments.
But in a recent piece he wrote for his local newspaper, Fisher defended and doubled down on some of his statements.
In one past comment, he said videotaping sexual encounters with women may be the only way for men to defend themselves against fake rape allegations.
The committee’s vote elicited shouts of “Shame!” from women in the audience.
Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, members of the women’s advocacy group UltraViolet, Action Together New Hampshire, Granite State Progress and Rep. Debra Altschiller held a news conference arguing that Fisher should be expelled.
Some dressed as characters from the book and television series, The Handmaid’s Tale, which imagines a dystopian republic in which women have lost their rights and even their identities.
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