Nebraska senator invokes colleague's name while reading rape scene during debate

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — A Nebraska legislative debate about keeping obscenity out of K-12 schools ended abruptly Monday night after a lawmaker, while reading a book passage about an explicit rape scene, invoked a colleague’s name.

State Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings, during debate on Legislative Bill 441, warned state senators and those watching the livestream of legislative proceedings that he would be quoting from the hearing testimony on the bill.

LB 441, the priority bill of State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, seeks to crack down on obscenity and pornography in K-12 schools.

One person testifying at the March 24, 2023, hearing on LB 441 read passages from a book titled “Lucky,” by Alice Sebold, which includes a graphic description of a rape Sebold survived in college.

While reading the testimony, Halloran inserted the name “Senator Cavanaugh” at the end of some sentences about the sexual assault.

He didn’t specify which Cavanaugh. (Both Machaela Cavanaugh and her brother John serve in the Legislature.)

At least two of Halloran’s colleagues publicly called for him to resign.

During about four hours of debate, Halloran and others alluded repeatedly to the hearing transcript. Halloran was the first to read directly from it.

“We talked about, ‘My kids haven’t experienced this in my school,’” Halloran said. “Doesn’t matter. If it’s just one school that experiences this, (it’s) one too many.”

The lawmaker also invoked State Sen. George Dungan’s name after reading the passage.

He called out Dungan, of Lincoln, and Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, both attorneys, for questioning the legality of LB 441 but not proposing solutions.

“Don’t throw it away — fix it,” Halloran said. “It’s a problem.”

Much of Monday’s debate featured supporters saying that LB 441 would fix a loophole that they say prevents prosecution if a school official provides obscenity to minors.

Opponents said that is already illegal under state law, and school officials do not have immunity from prosecution.

After Halloran read from “Lucky,” Sen. John Cavanaugh said the Hastings senator “missed the point.”

“Yes, life is gross and very unpleasant,” he said. “But that is what life is, and people who experience that want to know they’re not alone.”

Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh told Halloran that his speech was harassment.

She said that while she and Albrecht disagreed about the bill, Albrecht remained professional during debate. Halloran did not, she said.

“That was so out of line and unnecessary and disgusting to say my name over and over again like that,” Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said.

“You don’t know anything about anyone else’s life, and I can tell you that women in this body have been subjected to sexual violence,” she continued. “I didn’t know you were capable of such cruelty. That was so unbecoming of you and unbecoming of this body, and I hope that some other people who are Republicans will stand up and defend me.”

Albrecht and a handful of other lawmakers had left the floor when Halloran was reading the passage.

Albrecht said afterward she was “mortified” if Cavanaugh’s name was invoked.

“I don’t want to listen to this, but deep down inside, this is what’s happening,” Albrecht said. “… I will be the first to stand up and say I’m sorry — I’m sorry that we even have to read anything like this.”

Halloran, in an email to a Nebraska teacher Monday evening, wrote, “If you would have listened closely, I was addressing her lawyer brother … John!”

In another email shared online and with the Examiner, Halloran described the passage as a “‘how to rape’ lesson given to young people” and said his only regret is that liberals are not upset that “Lucky” is in school libraries.

Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said on social media that Halloran’s explanation that he was referring to her brother was “dismissive” and ignores that men can also be sexually assaulted.

Colleagues from both sides of the aisle in the officially nonpartisan Legislature condemned Halloran.

State Sens. Megan Hunt of Omaha, a progressive, and Julie Slama of Dunbar, a conservative, both called for him to resign.

“Disgusting,” Slama wrote on X. “No context makes this appropriate.”

Speaker John Arch of La Vista, on a motion from Hunt, agreed to adjourn one hour early Monday evening.

The debate is scheduled to pick up Tuesday afternoon after lawmakers finish second-round debate on the state budget.

“There’s times when we just have to step back from the debate, and I think this is one of those times,” Arch said.