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Bob Nonini #fundie idahostatesman.com

A Republican lieutenant governor candidate on Tuesday softened his stance that women who get an abortion should be punished if it is ever criminalized in Idaho, a day after saying the punishment should include the death penalty.

“Prosecutions have always been focused on the abortionist,” said Bob Nonini in a statement. “There is no way a woman would go to jail let alone face the death penalty. The statute alone, the threat of prosecution, would dramatically reduce abortion. That is my goal.”

Nonini first raised eyebrows on the divisive social issue during a Monday candidate forum in Moscow hosted by the conservative Christian podcast CrossPolitic.

“There should be no abortion and anyone who has an abortion should pay,” Nonini said.

Pressed by moderators on the nature of the punishment, Nonini nodded in agreement when asked if he supported the death penalty as a possible outcome for abortion.

Nonini, a three term state senator from Coeur d'Alene, confirmed that position in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

However, several hours later, Nonini issued a statement seeking to take back his strict stance.

“I strongly support the overturning of Roe v. Wade,” Nonini said. “That would allow states like Idaho to re-criminalize abortion as a deterrent. However, it is my understanding that in the history of the United States, long before Roe was foisted upon this country; no woman has ever been prosecuted for undergoing abortion. That is for practical reasons, as well as for reasons of compassion”

Nonini added that his wife, Cathyanne, does not share his endorsement of the death penalty even though both are devout Catholics.

It’s common for Republican candidates to express their anti-abortion positions in GOP-dominant Idaho. Typically, many stress the importance of educating women on alternative options to an unplanned pregnancy or making access to abortion clinics more difficult rather than focus on possible punishment for the woman.

A handful of anti-abortion advocates have begun increasing their call for stricter penalties for women and providers.

Last year, Abolish Abortion Idaho launched a ballot initiative seeking to charge both abortion providers and women with first-degree murder – but it is unclear if the group will have enough signatures to make it on the ballot in November.

Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Dan Foreman attempted to introduce legislation that would also classify abortion as first-degree murder for mothers and doctors, but the proposal never received a hearing.

Nonini was joined at Monday’s forum by two other Republican candidates: Idaho Falls businesswoman Janice McGeachin and former Idaho Republican Party Chairman Steve Yates.

Five Republicans are running in the May primary election after incumbent GOP Lt. Gov. Brad Little announced he would run for governor, but only Nonini, McGeachin and Yates were invited to attend the forum.

Both McGeachin and Yates say abortion is murder, but stopped short of supporting charging women with first-degree murder for undergoing the procedure.

“No, I cannot support a woman facing the death penalty for having an abortion,” said McGeachin. “What we should do is prevent that.”

Yates downplayed that criminalizing abortion would result in fewer women seeking the procedure.

“In terms of criminalizing things, I have no problem with that except that doesn’t always solve the problem,” Yates said.

Nonini’s comments echo similar rhetoric said by Donald Trump during the presidential campaign. In 2016, Trump came out in support of “some sort of punishment” for women who get abortions, but the campaign later backtracked that he believes abortion providers should be the ones punished.

Bon Nonini #fundie idahostatesman.com

A Republican lieutenant governor candidate on Tuesday softened his stance that women who get an abortion should be punished if it is ever criminalized in Idaho, a day after saying the punishment should include the death penalty.

“Prosecutions have always been focused on the abortionist,” said Bob Nonini in a statement. “There is no way a woman would go to jail let alone face the death penalty. The statute alone, the threat of prosecution, would dramatically reduce abortion. That is my goal.”

Nonini first raised eyebrows on the divisive social issue during a Monday candidate forum in Moscow hosted by the conservative Christian podcast CrossPolitic.

“There should be no abortion and anyone who has an abortion should pay,” Nonini said.

Pressed by moderators on the nature of the punishment, Nonini nodded in agreement when asked if he supported the death penalty as a possible outcome for abortion.

Nonini, a three term state senator from Coeur d'Alene, confirmed that position in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

However, several hours later, Nonini issued a statement seeking to take back his strict stance.

“I strongly support the overturning of Roe v. Wade,” Nonini said. “That would allow states like Idaho to re-criminalize abortion as a deterrent. However, it is my understanding that in the history of the United States, long before Roe was foisted upon this country; no woman has ever been prosecuted for undergoing abortion. That is for practical reasons, as well as for reasons of compassion”

Jeff Siddoway #fundie idahostatesman.com

Concerning the recently-passed bill that allows Idaho parents to deny children life-saving medical care

Committee Chairman Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, who was the tiebreaking vote to move the bill on to the full Senate, gave a passionate description of his own faith.

“I certainly believe in divinity and I think that our Lord Jesus Christ can intervene,” he said. “I’m sure many in this room have witnessed miracles. Those children that have gone on, they’re probably where we’re all trying to get. They’re there. They’ve got it made. If we can just live a righteous life, one day we’ll be with them again. But I think this bill comes as close as we can come right now in trying to intervene.”

Idaho State Senator Steve Vick #fundie idahostatesman.com

Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, says he'll walk out if a Hindu prayer opens the Idaho Senate on Tuesday morning.

"They have a caste system," Vick said. "They worship cows."

He acknowledged that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows any kind of prayer, but said he thinks the Hindu one shouldn't be allowed to open the Senate, as the United States was "built on the Judeo-Christian not only religion but work ethic, and I don't want to see that undermined."

"I'm very supportive of the way this country was built, and I don't want us to move away from it," Vick said.

...

Vick took to social media over the weekend to vent his displeasure about the plan for a Hindu prayer in the Senate, telling his Facebook followers, "I am working to get it stopped."

He told The Spokesman-Review on Monday he's had strong support from his North Idaho constituents for his stand.

"They've all been supportive of the effort to not allow the Hindu prayer in the Senate chambers," he said.

"It goes back to my concern about the way this country was built, if you compare it to a country that was built on the Hindu faith," Vick said.

He said allowing the prayer could "send a message we're not happy with the way America is."

Marguerite Haragan and Brian Olson #fundie idahostatesman.com

Marguerite Haragan, 58, pressed her foot into the throat of a Jewish woman while saying she'd "better accept Jesus," an Ada County prosecutor said during Haragan's arraignment Thursday.

Haragan's verbal harassment of the woman - identified in court by her initials, "AG" - had been ongoing, including through phone calls, according to the prosecutor. But on Feb. 5, it reportedly escalated to violence.

According to the prosecutor, AG reported that Haragan visited her home that day, banged on her front window and yelled that she'd "better believe in Jesus, and that she was not going to leave until she did."

AG opened the door to take down Haragan's license plate number and ask Haragan to leave, the prosecutor said. Haragan then allegedly slapped AG in the face, pulled her hair, yanked her to the ground and began kicking her in the stomach and thighs. Haragan yelled that AG needed to believe in Jesus to stop the assault, the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said Haragan pressed her foot into AG's neck and pulled her hair, causing a neck injury that still pains AG. "Eventually, the victim had to comply" to escape the attack, the prosecutor said.

According to the charges against Haragan, she returned to AG's home Feb. 7 and scratched a phrase including the word "death" into her mailbox.

[...]

That same day in the Ada County Courthouse, an unrelated malicious harassment case reached an end.

Brian Olson, 42, who admitted threatening Iraqi students last October, was sentenced to 10 years of supervised probation Thursday. If Olson violates his probation, he could face three to 10 years in prison, KBOI-TV reported. That sentence is currently suspended.

According to court documents, Olson approached five students near Lucky Peak and yelled cultural epithets. Olson told authorities he broke a necklace off one of the teens, threatened to throw another off a cliff, and spit on one of the other teens.

Fourth District Judge Samuel Hoagland questioned Olson's apology, wondering whether Olson was just sorry for getting caught.