Illinois House Democratic Representative from the western suburb of Glen Ellyn, Terra Costa Howard, revealed herself to be both ignorant and arrogant, a surprising commingling of characteristics but common among Illinois Democrats.
Not quite two weeks ago, while chomping on gum like ruminants chew their cud, Costa Howard was asked by Representative Brad Halbrook to define the term “opposite sex” in a bill she sponsored regarding subsidized housing.
The relevant section of the bill reads as follows:
An elderly parent with an adult child with disabilities of the opposite sex shall not be required to occupy subsidized house with only one bedroom.
She begins her response to Halbrook with a snide, “Oh, Representative, let’s go,” followed by smirking and snickering.
When asked again to “define what ‘opposite sex’ means,” Costa Howard, purportedly an attorney, offered this non-answer: “it means, um, as defined in the federal definitions.”
Yes, she actually said that. But wait, it gets even more hilarious.
Halbrook replied that he didn’t have that definition but assumed she did, so would she provide the definition before the House voted on her bill.
She said, “Sure,” conferred with an assistant, and then said hurriedly, “We’ll get back to you on that. We’re trying to locate the definition. What’s your next question?”
“We’re trying to locate the definition”? Where’s a giggling emoji when you need one.
Leftists are being hoist with their own petard. Since they can’t define woman and man, they can’t define sex. And if they can’t define “sex,” they surely can’t define “opposite sex.”
Of course, even ignorant leftists like Costa Howard know what “woman,” “man,” “sex,” and “opposite sex” mean. They also know that sex is objective and immutable. They know humans can’t change their sex. And they know newborns are not “assigned” a sex or gender at birth. But now that they’ve thrown their lot in with “trans” cult, trading reality for a mess of political power, they’re stuck in a socially constructed world of non-sense.
Unlike Costa Howard, Halbrook is no fool, so her demand that he move on to his next question went unheeded. He asked again, “What does [opposite sex] mean to you?”
In unctuous faux-earnestness, Costa Howard replied, “Well frankly, Representative, my personal feelings on that issue are really irrelevant.”
Nice attempt to deflect, but Halbrook had not asked Costa Howard for her feelings about the term “opposite sex.” He had asked her for her understanding of the meaning of the term.
Since she sponsored the bill—and attorneys are notable for their precision in diction—one would expect her to have some understanding of the term. Heck, one would expect a ten-year-old to be able to offer a definition of the term. Well, maybe not students in Chicago Public Schools (thanks, teachers unions).
Halbrook then asked if she felt or believed that the definition of “opposite sex” is fluid or static. She again refused to share either her feelings or beliefs, reiterating that her feelings are irrelevant.
But—and it’s a big but—in response to Halbrook’s recommendation that because the bill lacks a critical definition, it should not be voted on, she then said,
Representative, as you know, um, individuals in this chamber vote however they want, however they feel, about a particular policy issue.
Whoa. “However they feel“? So, which is it? Are the feelings of lawmakers about bills wholly irrelevant or of paramount importance—so important they determine how lawmakers vote?
The bill raises at least one interesting question: If a parent should not be forced to share a government-subsidized bedroom with their own adult disabled child of the opposite sex, why should high school girls be forced to share government-subsidized locker rooms with students of the opposite sex whom they often don’t even know?
Maybe Costa Howard could get back to me with her feelings on this issue when she figures out what “opposite sex” means.
Public servant Costa Howard insults Illinoisans by her refusal to define critical terms in her own bill, and she insults her colleagues with her condescending smirking. Illinoisans deserve far better than Costa Howard.