I attended House sensitivity training session; I just didn't report it

To The Daily Sun,

Harassment, particularly sexual harassment, is a serious issue. As one of those reprimanded by the N.H. House, I can assure you that I do not take sexual harassment lightly. I take it as seriously as I do our Constitution. Contrary to the baseless false allegation made by the majority of the House, I did in fact attend sexual harassment training lead by Rep. Jess Edwards.

As one of the chairmen of the House Republican Alliance, I attended the first of Rep. Edwards training sessions on January 15, 2019. The HRA sponsored this training and raised funds for Best Buddies New Hampshire in the process.

Why didn’t I just say so? The so called ‘rule 67’ reads “All legislators, legislative officers, and legislative staff shall attend in-person education and training regarding sexual and other unlawful harassment and discrimination.” As you can see this rule says nothing about reporting the training has been completed, it does not instruct as to when it must be accomplished, nor does it say how often it must be taken. If this were a legitimate rule it would give guidance that would answer such questions.

On a more fundamental note, this rule is outside the constitutional authority of the General Court. Our Constitution provides in Part II, [Art.] 22: “The house of representatives shall choose their own speaker, appoint their own officers, and settle the rules of proceedings in their own house; and shall be judge of the returns, elections, and qualifications, of its members, as pointed out in this constitution.” Rule 67 has nothing to do with proceedings of the House, it is a mandate pushed for political posturing.

Some people seem to think that I was mocking the serious issue of harassment, which is completely wrong. The Speaker of the House, and the Democrat majority were using the people’s House as a political platform from which they launched a campaign to humiliate Republicans. They disgraced themselves by turning the General Court into a kangaroo court.

Their show was lead by Rep. Lucy Weber, who went to the well of the House and repeatedly read a false charge against the accused. No questions were allowed to be asked about the charge. No evidence was presented to support the allegations. None of the accused would be allowed to face their accuser. The rule of the proceeding was what ever the Speaker allowed, and his rulings would be supported by the majority in a lock-step vote. There was no place for the rule of law in this farcical theater of the absurd. Mob rule is the way of this Democratic majority; and that I do mock.

Thursday February 20, 2020 will stand as the darkest day I have witness in my seven years in the House. Democratic colleagues (with one exception) with whom I’ve worked cordially in the past, shredded those relationships for the sake of scoring political points. They were once respected but now have revealed their true nature. Being civil will be the best I can muster.

State Rep. Mike Sylvia

Belmont