# NH Republican Sheriff candidate will potentially use deadly force to stop abortions **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 24, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457 "2012-08-24T04:53:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/1 "2012-08-24T04:53:42Z")
[Abort that fetus and I’ll kill you!](http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/08/22/nh-sheriff-candidate-would-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/) > [@](#): > > Frank Szabo set off a firestorm with the comments. People on all sides of the political spectrum have condemned the statements, but Szabo stands by them. He says it’s the sheriff’s job to protect every citizen – even the unborn. > > Szabo is running as a Republican for Hillsborough County Sheriff. But he injected a new issue in the debate when he sent out a press release saying he would arrest anyone performing an abortion. > > He took it a step further when asked how far he’d go to stop one. > > “Deadly force is the last thing law enforcement should be using, if a citizen’s life is in danger they should be protected,” says Szabo. “If there is no other choice, that’s what’s needed to protect the citizen.” ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/2 "2012-08-24T05:24:07Z")
Jesus Fucking Christ. Are these people insane? ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/3 "2012-08-24T05:40:12Z")
Someone needs to spike this guy’s water well with anti-psychotics. How in the world is he on a ballot for a job carrying a gun? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/4 "2012-08-24T06:03:22Z")
This is the face of today’s Republican party. Your granddad’s Republican party doesn’t exist anymore; the extremists have taken over. I feel kind of sorry for sensible Republicans these days, and there are still quite a few, because they’re saddled with this madness and have no where else to go, and constantly find themselves in the position of defending the indefensible. ---
**Author:** ![Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pine_Fresh_Scent)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/5 "2012-08-24T08:51:34Z")
\*Frank Szabo set off a firestorm with the comments…Szabo stands by them. He says it’s the sheriff’s job to protect every citizen – even the unborn. “Deadly force is the last thing law enforcement should be using, if a citizen’s life is in danger they should be protected,” says Szabo. “If there is no other choice, that’s what’s needed to protect the citizen.” \* Despite the lack of a precise definition of [“natural born U.S. citizen”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural-born-citizen_clause), there seems to be agreement that it applies to people who have actually been born; ergo, fetuses are not yet citizens. What does it take to get on the ballot for sheriff in NH besides a crappy goatee, vacant-yet-doe-soft eyes and the mindset of Eric Rudolph? This guy’s a businessman, not a Law Enforcement Officer (thank God). He needs to go back to watching his Kirk Cameron DVDs and leave important things to the grown-ups. OTOH, watching the RNC’s diseased chickens like Szabo come home to roost is solid, if sad, entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/6 "2012-08-24T11:21:27Z")
If a fetus is a citizen, shouldn’t it be able get a social security number and a passport? All it would have to do is show its birth certificate. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/7 "2012-08-24T11:21:33Z")
The Republican Party is the party of life! That’s why they aren’t afraid to kill people who stand in the way of their ideological principals! ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/8 "2012-08-24T12:05:48Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I feel kind of sorry for sensible Republicans these days Yes, I feel sorry for both of them as well. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/9 "2012-08-24T13:40:20Z")
My first act as sheriff will be to kill the whole lot of ya and burn your town to cinders! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/10 "2012-08-24T13:43:38Z")
Live free or die. Or kill. Whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/11 "2012-08-24T14:10:09Z")
Perhaps I’m nitpicking here, but I’m also bothered by his statement about how “if a citizen’s life is in danger,” given that a sheriff’s duty extends to non-citizens, even undocumented aliens (i.e., illegal aliens). ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/12 "2012-08-24T14:21:07Z")
I thought Sheriffs in NH pretty much just evicted people and drove around in shit-brown cars. Seeing as I live in that county, I now know one idiot I won’t be voting for. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/13 "2012-08-24T14:34:59Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Perhaps I’m nitpicking here, but I’m also bothered by his statement about how “if a citizen’s life is in danger,” given that a sheriff’s duty extends to non-citizens, even undocumented aliens (i.e., illegal aliens). While we’re nitpicking I wonder if he realizes that killing the mother will pretty much automagcially kill the fetus he’s trying to protect. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/14 "2012-08-24T15:15:16Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > While we’re nitpicking I wonder if he realizes that killing the mother will pretty much automagcially kill the fetus he’s trying to protect. Thats why you kill all the doctors. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/15 "2012-08-24T16:23:47Z")
What if the mother is already using deadly force to save her own life? 😮 ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/16 "2012-08-24T16:39:19Z")
I say fetuses should be required to carry guns, so that they can protect themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/17 "2012-08-24T17:26:06Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I say fetuses should be required to carry guns, so that they can protect themselves. Pregnant woman pointing at belly:“I never saw that gun before in my life-it must be _his_!” ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/18 "2012-08-24T17:37:49Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > If a fetus is a citizen, shouldn’t it be able get a social security number and a passport? All it would have to do is show its birth certificate. Insofar as I know, there are three ways to become a U.S. citizen: 1. Be born on U.S. soil and subject to the laws thereof, as specified in the 14th Amendment. (_Ius soli_ birth citizenship) 2. Be born the child of a U.S. citizen under the appropriate statutory terms for inheriting citizenship. (_Ius sanguinis_ birth citizenship) 3. Pass the appropriate test and take the oath to become a naturalized citizen. To the best of my knowledge, a fetus has never done any of the three _while still a fetus_ – though of course full-term fetuses become citizzens under methods #1 and #2 all the time. Fetuses may or may not be persons, but they are most assuredly not citizens. (And considering that no fetus, to my knowledge, has ever completed ICE paperwork of any form, one could excuse a pregnant woman electing to abort on the grounds that she is ceasing to harbor an illegal alien! :D) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/19 "2012-08-24T18:01:15Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > I thought Sheriffs in NH pretty much just evicted people and drove around in shit-brown cars. > > Seeing as I live in that county, I now know one idiot I won’t be voting for. Eh. No one else will vote for him either, now. I mean, I grew up in Hillsborough County (specifically, Merrimack) - by NH standards, the place is densely-populated and heavily urbanized. Much of it is basically a bedroom community for employers in and around Boston - they have some hard-core conservatives, but this isn’t the boondocks. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457/20 "2012-08-24T18:14:11Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Thats why you kill all the doctors. Plus, if you kill ALL of them, that nips ol’ Obamacare in the bud. Win-Win. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nh-republican-sheriff-candidate-will-potentially-use-deadly-force-to-stop-abortions/632457.md?page=2)