# Husband says woman shouldn't be defendant in breast-feeding **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 25, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298 "2003-06-25T14:37:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/1 "2003-06-25T14:37:49Z")
[Here](http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/6156959.htm) In the strongest case of enforced sterlization that I have ever seen, in a nutshell, this man says that anything his wife has done wrong he alone should bear the burden of the penalty/punishment because he is the head of the house. I am so annoyed and flabbergasted by these two idiots that I can’t even think straight. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/2 "2003-06-25T14:40:42Z")
If his assertation were accepted, it would be interesting to see what would happen in the event of her going on to murder him! ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/3 "2003-06-25T14:46:40Z")
> [@](#): > > `The situation here,'' Barnhill said during an interview last week, `is that, according to our faith, I’m the head of the household. I’m responsible for what she does, and no one can punish her except me. :eek: :mad: :rolleyes: :dubious: :wally What an ass. Somebody ought to check this woman for scars and bruises. It’s too bad they can’t charge the husband with being a dickbag. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/4 "2003-06-25T14:55:29Z")
Dear God. That poor kid. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/5 "2003-06-25T15:01:51Z")
> [@](#): > > The additional charges, Barnhill said, were made in `bad faith'' and with an intent to `intimidate’’ him and his wife. > > Barnhill said he will remedy that during his next court appearance by making a citizen’s arrest on [Prosecutor Sean P.] Scahill. That oughta be fun to watch. Can we get Court TV in there for this? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/6 "2003-06-25T15:11:51Z")
What’s he going to do…go and grab the prosecutor and start hollering “Citizen’s arr-ay-est, citizen’s arr-ay-est?” If he outs his hands on the prosecutor would that be an excuse for the Baliff to give him the beat-down that he deserves? ---
**Author:** ![sperfur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9adbd/32.png) [@sperfur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sperfur)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/7 "2003-06-25T15:14:33Z")
> [@](#): > > the fellowship’s main objective is to convert and educate sovereign Americans "to demand and defend their God given rights and fulfill their duties as freedom loving Christians against the encroachment of the Beast and his agents.’’ > > Hansen identifies the Beast as the federal government and some of its agents as the IRS, Social Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and the Drug Enforcement Administration. This is my favorite part. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/8 "2003-06-25T15:21:39Z")
> [@](#): > > `If the people do not hold public officials responsible for their actions,'' Barnhill said, `who will?’’ Batman? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/9 "2003-06-25T15:31:21Z")
hold 'er, Knute. She’s gonna buck… ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/10 "2003-06-25T15:32:36Z")
A religion based on objections to the federal and state government? Heh, can I please baptise this stupid sonovabitch for an hour or two? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/11 "2003-06-25T15:50:03Z")
You know, I don’t know which is stupider of this woman, her complete disregard for her child’s safety and well-being, or her SUPREME idiocy in buying into this guy’s bullshit. Disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/12 "2003-06-25T16:04:36Z")
Gah! She was breastfeeding _while driving_!? Stupid idiot. If the La Leche League disapproves, you know it’s gotta be bad bad bad. This issue of whether religion supersedes the law has been in the news an awful lot lately, eh? ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/13 "2003-06-25T16:05:41Z")
Let’s just lock up both weirdos and give the kid to someone who’s not insane. ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/14 "2003-06-25T16:39:17Z")
Way not to be judgemental in regards to other peoples’ belief systems, people. Sure, you may not agree with it, but why is it that I see all sorts of shit defended as a “cultural” or “religious” right…except when it’s disagreed with? This family’s faith dictates that the man is the head of the household, and makes all of the decisions. Where’s the harm in it, _provided_ that the woman is accepting of this? I don’t see people flaming the BDSM subculture for being hateful or misogynistic, nor do I see people talking about willing-partner sexual slavery as necessarily a bad thing. But show a religion where it’s accepted that the man makes all of the decisions, and we’ve got people volunteering to “baptise this stupid sonovabitch for an hour or two,” throwing around unfounded assumptions that he’s physically abusive,\* and calling everything he believes “bullshit.” It’s their lives, people…sure, you may not want to live it, but quit being so fucking judgemental. \*yes, I’m aware that he believes that her punishment is his responsibility. No, we don’t know how (or even if) he intends to enforce it. He said > [@](#): > > ``So if they want to punish somebody, let them punish me. I am the defendant. He’s sticking up for is wife, willing to take the blame and legal consequences for what she (stupidly) did, and he’s getting grilled for it? ---
**Author:** ![cleosia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@cleosia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleosia)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/15 "2003-06-25T16:45:41Z")
Sounds like a bunch of “Promise Keepers” to me, God help us! ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/16 "2003-06-25T16:59:20Z")
Wait a second. > [@](#): > > Hansen identifies the Beast as the federal government and some of its agents as the IRS… The guy is on to something here. Let’s not dismiss him out of hand. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/17 "2003-06-25T17:02:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Barnhill said his faith is rooted in The First Christian Fellowship for Eternal Sovereignty, an organization founded in the late 1990s, according to information on its Web site. > \ > Hansen says on the Web site that the fellowship’s main objectiveis to convert and educate sovereign Americans ``to demand and defend their God given rights and fulfill their duties as freedom loving Christians against the encroachment of the Beast and his agents.’’ > > Hansen identifies the Beast as the federal government and some of its agents as the IRS, Social Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and the Drug Enforcement Administration. > \ > He and his followers, Barnhill said, believe in the strictest interpretation of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and other writings from the late 1700s. Our disgust stems not from him being a stand-up guy but for trying to pass off his intolerance for any governmental control on society as some kind of a religion. “Making me follow a law I disagree with means I’m going to hell.” ??? Please. That’s not a faith. That’s not a religion. It’s a bullshit invocation of the religion card to get his way. If he wants to draw the charge, fine. Give it to him. But nursing a baby on the frikkin’ highway and without a seatbelt deserves a fine. One of them needs to learn something about child endangerment from this instead of a bullshit claim of oppression. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/18 "2003-06-25T17:47:06Z")
I’m kinda curious how the whole trial thing is going go play out. Her lawyer is supposed to argure for HER best interest, which would most certainly be pleading out to the $100 fine, if the authorities would still accept it. However, with the husband around, the lawyer would be hired to argue HIS nonsense, which could result in her getting a stiff penalty. Would the state assign a public defender to insure that she doesn’t get railroaded by hubby into jail time? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/19 "2003-06-25T17:58:21Z")
This is _news?_ This happens in courts in America on a daily basis: “I do not recognize the authority of this court! Only God can judge me!” This is usually followed by the judge explaining “Actually, that’s a common misperception…” **blessedwolf** , it’s important to understand what this guy is claiming: that his religious beliefs give him the power to circumvent any law he sees as conflicting with them. His wife doesn’t have to pay fines and can’t be punished under state law. He gets to substitute himself in as a defendant, no matter what she does. There’s no problem with his being head of the household as far as that goes, but that doesn’t mean the state doesn’t have police power over both of them. The guy is just another crank with an agenda making life difficult for prosecutors and courts. More than that, he’s confusing me. Is he attempting to act as attorney for his wife in her criminal case? Is he planning on jumping up and effecting a “citizens arrest” of the prosector at his wife’s trial? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298/20 "2003-06-25T18:27:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\* But nursing a baby on the frikkin’ highway and without a seatbelt deserves a fine. One of them needs to learn something about child endangerment from this instead of a bullshit claim of oppression. \*\* A FINE? She was freaking **driving** while nursing the baby. That’s more than child endangerment, IMNSHO. The poor baby should have been removed from their care, if you ask me. The fact that they’re hiding behind their religion is the only reason they still have that kid in their custody. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husband-says-woman-shouldnt-be-defendant-in-breast-feeding/184298.md?page=2)