Women’s rights advocates have long known that Louisiana is a lousy place to be a woman. Now, sadly, our state has earned yet another dubious distinction: It’s becoming a great place to be a domestic abuser.
From gender-based income disparities to maternal mortality rates to the rate at which men rape and murder women, Louisiana consistently ranks at or near the top all the “worst” lists. To anyone familiar with our state’s history of legal and cultural misogyny, this is old news.
More recently, however, from two seemingly disparate sources, comes great news for domestic abusers.
On Feb. 2, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a gun even if that individual is under a restraining order for domestic violence — and even if a judge determines that individual poses “a credible threat to the physical safety” of his victim or her child.
A week earlier, the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee (OPDEC) endorsed Steven Kennedy, who was convicted 10 years ago of three counts of domestic abuse — two of them involving strangulation. Kennedy, who says he has mended his ways and wants to be a “role model” for youth, is an OPDEC member and one of six candidates in the Feb. 18 special election in state House District 93 in New Orleans.
There’s a lot to unpack in those two decisions.
For starters, the 5th Circuit’s jurisdiction includes Louisiana. The court's decision thus jeopardizes a Louisiana law that allows judges to disarm violent domestic abusers, which in turn endangers domestic abuse victims. Statistics show that an abuser’s access to guns makes it five times more likely that a woman will be killed.
“Louisiana ranks 5th in the nation for domestic abuse homicides and has been in the top 10 states for such horrors since anyone has been counting,” said attorney Kim Sport, a longtime advocate for domestic-abuse victims who helped convince state legislators to enact Louisiana's tough anti-domestic abuse laws.
Sport and several OPDEC members want the committee to rescind its endorsement of Kennedy, who most recently pleaded guilty in 2017 to disturbing the peace after being accused yet again of domestic abuse. OPDEC, which made its endorsement decision hastily (and, some members say, without a quorum), has since affirmed its support of Kennedy, and committee leaders won't comment on the controversy. Others are not staying silent.
New Orleans state Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman, an OPDEC member, called the endorsement “deeply disturbing.” OPDEC member Elizabeth Sangisetty said it sends “a very disturbing message to women.”
Kennedy insists his past does not reflect his future, but otherwise he's not commenting. His claim that, having turned his life around, he wants to be a "role model" for young people raises an important question: How best can someone who has stumbled serve as a role model? The first step, of course, is to truly mend one's ways. The second, it would seem, is to work in the trenches with at-risk youth who desperately need role models — and to do it for a length of time that shows a real commitment to community service, not just a box to check on the fast track to elective office.
At a minimum, OPDEC's decision reflects the "insider's game" aspect of both political parties' internal machinations — and some of their leaders' near-total disconnect from voters.
In a larger sense, the 5th Circuit decision and the OPDEC endorsement reflect the "perfect storm" aspect of the Supreme Court's guns-for-all interpretation of the Second Amendment and society's evolving attitude toward citizens, candidates and public officials with checkered — or even criminal — pasts.
Not too long ago, state Sen. Troy Brown of Napoleonville resigned after two arrests for domestic battery, one in 2015 involving his "side friend" (his term) and one in 2016 involving his wife. Brown resigned in 2017 amid public outrage and in the face of near-certain expulsion by his Senate colleagues.
The Feb. 18 primary will likely see an extremely low turnout — it’s the Saturday of Mardi Gras weekend in New Orleans.
That evening, as Endymion float riders and revelers celebrate the megakrewe’s annual post-parade Extravaganza, we’ll learn if domestic abusers also have reason to celebrate — and Louisiana women have yet another reason to dread living here.
Clancy DuBos is Gambit weekly’s political editor and columnist and WWL-TV’s political analyst. Contact him at clancy@gambitweekly.com.