Wednesday, as the Louisiana State House discussed a bill that would raise the minimum age for strippers to 21, some of the lawmakers present couldn’t resist the opportunity to start joking about other rules the bill should include.
First, Democratic Rep. Sam Jones asked about instituting a maximum age for dancers, according to New Orleans’ WWL-TV—and the House, which is 87% male, proceeded to laugh.
Then, Republican Rep. Kenneth Havard took the floor to jokingly suggest there be a maximum weight added to the bill—“to trim the fat”—which he proposed as a 160-pound cut-off.
Other representatives were not amused.
“I hear derogatory comments about women in this place regularly,” said Republican Rep. Julie Stokes, whose voice was shaking with emotion. “It has got to stop. That was utterly disrespectful and disgusting.”
“This isn’t funny,” said Democratic Rep. Helena Moreno to one male representative. “This isn’t a funny bill.”
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Senate Bill 468, which would raise the minimum age of dancers who reveal their “breasts” or “buttocks” from 18 to 21, passed the House 96-0. It will now go back to the State Senate, according to WWL-TV.
Harvard later defended his comments, according to PEOPLE. “It was a poke at overregulating everything—where are we going to stop?” he told The Times-Picayune. “It was aimed at both men and women. I can’t strip either. I’m a little overweight.”
Watch the news station’s segment on the story:
