DENVER — In an online news conference, Democratic state lawmakers in Colorado drew attention to a side effect of COVID-19: hate speech.
"We will not stand for any form of racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism because hate for one is hate for all," said Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City.
Michaelson Jenet led the group of lawmakers representing the Jewish caucus, Latina and Latino caucus, LGBTQ caucus and Black caucus.
Her comments were the result of a comment made by House Minority Leader Rep. Patrick Neville, R-Castle Rock, on conservative talk radio last month. He said the stay-at-home orders lead to a "Gestapo-like mentality."
"Why didn't we come (out) then? It is really more of the Jewish custom, especially when we are dealing with anti-Semitic, Nazi rhetoric, to not draw attention to it. We don't want to give it too much screen time," said Michaelson Jenet. "I would love an earnest apology. One that really recognizes that he chose poorly in the language that he used."
The Democrats who took part in the news conference had also signed a two-page online letter calling on the public "to speak up in the face of racism and antisemitism."
In a text, Neville told Next with Kyle Clark: "The next day, I said a better choice of words would have been 'authoritarian.'"
"I need him to start doing some work in the community to stop the antisemitism," said Michaelson Jenet.
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What wasn't brought up by Democratic lawmakers was a similar reference made by then-Congressman Jared Polis almost exactly 10 years ago.
On April 26, 2010, Polis, who is Jewish, was quoted in POLITICO about Arizona's new immigration law that would allow police to ask ID from anyone suspected of being undocumented.
“It is absolutely reminiscent of second class status of Jews in Germany prior to World War II when they had to have their papers with them at all times and were subject to routine inspections at the suspicion of being Jewish,” Polis told POLITICO. "I think it’s a very fair comparison and I hope that we’re not headed on the same trajectory that Nazi Germany was.”
No Republicans were part of the online news conference, nor were their digital names on the anti-hate letter.
Turns out, they didn't know about it.
"We will be contacting different Republicans, legislators that we have a relationship with, and we will invite them to sign the letter," said Michaelson Jenet. "We recognize the difficult position it puts them in because we are specifically calling out a statement by their Minority Leader, and that is something that they have to deal with internally."
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