Prometheus 6   

When I heard it, I knew she was Republican

Cubin comment brings accusations of racial insensitivity in House

Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., was accused of being racially insensitive by Rep. Melvin Watt, D-N.C., during debate over whether to prohibit lawsuits from being brought against gun and ammunition manufacturers, dealers and importers for damage resulting from misuse of their products.

Cubin, who supports the bill, was complaining about a failed Democratic amendment that would have banned gun sales to drug addicts or people undergoing drug treatment.

"So does that mean that if you go into a black community, you can't sell any guns to any black person?" she asked.

Watt immediately interrupted Cubin, calling for her words to be stricken from the House record.

Cubin apologized for offending Watt's "sensitivities," saying she was sorry if her words offended anyone, but she refused to have her words removed from the debate.

The Republican-dominated House voted 227-195 mostly along party lines to keep Cubin's words in the official House record. After the vote, Cubin apologized again and said she didn't mean to be offensive.

"If I had been able to finish my sentence and my thought, it would have stated that I don't believe in stereotyping anyone, anytime, ever, for anything," Cubin said. "That's what I believe and I believe that from the bottom of my heart."