New Hampshire Republican refers to women as 'vaginas'

NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire on Tuesday condemned New Hampshire state Rep. Peter Hansen (R-Amherst) after news broke that he referred to women as "vaginas" in an email.

"Shame on Representative Hansen—we will do everything in our power to ensure voters in his district know about his demeaning rhetoric," Sara Persechino of NARAL said in a statement. "Women are more than their reproductive organs. We are daughters, sisters, mothers, students, professionals, and community leaders. We deserve more than being referenced by our body parts."

A blog called "susan the bruce" reported Monday that Hansen referred to women as "vaginas" in a message on the New Hampshire House internal email system.

Responding to debate over the state's Stand Your Ground law, Hansen wrote on April 1 that "children and vagina's" were missing from "the illustrious stories purporting to demonstrate the practical side of retreat." The law allows deadly force when someone believes their life is in danger, without the obligation to first retreat.

"Are you really using 'vaginas' as a crude catch-all for women? Really?" state Rep. Rick Watrous (D-Concord) replied. "Please think before you send out such offensive language on the legislative listserve."

But Hansen was less than apologetic.

"Having a fairly well educated mind I do not need self appointed wardens to A: try to put words in my mouth for political gain and B: Turn a well founded strategy in communication into an insulting accusation, and finally if you find the noun vagina insulting or in some way offensive then perhaps a better exercise might be for you to re-examine your psyche," he responded.