When State Senator Bradford Blackmon (D) introduced the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act,” he knew Republicans would bite. The bill would make it illegal to “discharge genetic material without the intent to fertilize an embryo.” The punishment? Fines starting at $1,000. The chances of the bill passing Mississippi’s Pro-Trump, conservative-majority Senate are zero, but that’s not the point. Senator Blackmon’s stated goal was to draw attention to the hypocrisy of anti-abortion politicians policing the bodies of women but not men. It’s top-tier political trolling that some have answered with death threats.
Mississippi Masturbation Ban Death Threats
Controversial orders have been the hallmark of Trump’s return, but Senator Blackmon’s bill is proof that some Democrats are still kicking, even symbolically. The Mississippi masturbation ban bill uses dehumanizing language designed to reflect the misogynistic rhetoric often found in anti-abortion legislation. The bill even includes exceptions for sperm donors and contraception, mocking the exceptions often made in anti-abortion laws. The Senator’s opponents don’t seem to find the satire funny.
In a statement to TMZ, Senator Blackmon said he’s received numerous death threats from angry men in response to the bill. He’s also received “some of the most vile things that people can imagine.” Given how fiery the fight for women’s rights and bodily autonomy has been in the U.S., that isn’t surprising. America’s history of clinic bombings by anti-abortion activists is just one prominent example. Senator Blackmon explained his thinking in a statement to WLBT of Jackson.
All across the country, especially here in Mississippi, the vast majority of bills relating to contraception and/or abortion focus on the womanโs role when men are fifty percent of the equation.
Drawing attention to hypocrisy is important. That said, Mississippi already has a near-total ban on abortion, and state restrictions on girls, women, and trans and intersex bodies are only increasing. Symbolic gestures and protests have their place, but Mississippi will require more direct action from leftists if it wants to change its political trajectory.
