GOP New Hampshire candidate says he would use deadly force to stop an abortion

[PatSeg]

The Republican party's candidate for Sheriff of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Frank Szabo, recently said that if elected he would use deadly force to prevent an abortion from happening. Szabo contributed to what is nationally a seemingly never ending list of gaffes made by Republican candidates on social issues.

Szabo, a former limo driver, was interviewed locally by wmur.com, and went on the record saying "abortion is murder in my opinion." He went on to say that he would "arrest any doctor who performs an abortion."

The core of Szabo's bizarre argument for using violence to prevent an abortion is based on the premise that a fetus has the same rights as a full grown person. According to wmur.com, Szabo elaborated, "If someone is under threat, a fully grown human being, if they're under threat, what should the sheriff do? Everything in their power to prevent them from being harmed."

The interviewer then asked Szabo if preventing abortions included using deadly force.

http://www.examiner.com/article/gop-new-hampshire-candidate-says-he-would-use-deadly-force-to-stop-an-abortion

The next day he "apologized" and I guess that makes everything better if you're a republican!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/n-h-sheriff-candidate-apologizes-repeatedly-deadly-force-stop-abortion-article-1.1143595?localLinksEnabled=false

[valerief]

1. I'm sure if he were one of those Empire cops, he wouldn't have just wounded an innocent victim.

He'd have made sure he killed an innocent victim.

[flamingdem]

2. This person needs to be questioned by the FBI now n/t

[unblock]

3. hmm. is it ok to use deadly force to prevent someone from using deadly force?

definitely not advocating anything, just exploring the logic....

[PatSeg]

8. If you are the Sheriff

you are expected to abide by the law, but evidently he thought sheriffs make up laws as they go.

Of course, he has no law enforcement experience. He's a limo driver - close enough, right?

[Gregorian]

10. Look no further than our very own DU Guns forum for an answer to that.

Crazy.

[JoePhilly]

4. This dude is brain dead.

[socialindependocrat]

5. Who let these people out of the loonie bin???

Why do they think that they can force others to live by their rules?

I don't belong to a conservative religion
I don't expect to have to live like I do

Freedom of choice - what's so hard to understand?

[WorseBeforeBetter]

6. "Gaffe," my ass.

noun
an unintentional act or remark causing embarrassment to its originator; a blunder

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gaffe

[PatSeg]

9. That was my reaction as well

That was NOT a gaffe, it was a statement of intention and belief.

[gateley]

7. Gee, no irony there.

[niyad]

11. "it's obvious that it's murder IN MY OPINION (emphasis mine)

(so this person, who admits he has no law enforcement experience, thinks a sheriff should be able to do whatever the hell he wants. of course, in that previous interview, he said that the constitution gave sheriffs extraordinary latitude to do just that)

But Szabo stood by his position that a doctor who performs an elective abortion should be subject to arrest - even though the practice is legal.

"It's obvious that its murder in my opinion and the sheriff is someone that should be able to do something about that,” he told WBZ.

Democrats pounced on the seemingly extralegal position.

"It's outrageous to hear a candidate for a law enforcement office express utter disregard for the law," Democratic gubernatorial candidate Maggie Hassan said. "All citizens of New Hampshire should condemn Frank Szabo's violent threats and call on him to end his candidacy."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/n-h-sheriff-candidate-apologizes-repeatedly-deadly-force-stop-abortion-article-1.1143595#ixzz24art1vR6