3 April 2017, Minnesota House, Minneapolis, USA
The previous day, DFL House Minority Melissa Hortman (Dem) noticed that several of her male colleagues were not on the floor listening to the speech and made a “call of the House”, a motion that brings members back to the floor. “I hate to break up the 100 percent white male card game in the retiring room, but I think this is an important debate.”
Rep. Bob Dettmer (R-Forest Lake): I'm a white male. I respect everybody. But I really believe the comments made by the Minosrity Leader were really not approprriate. Minority Leader, would you apologise to the body.
Hortman: Representative Dettmer, I'm glad you asked me to yield. I have no intention of apologizing. I am so tired of watching Rep. Susan Allen give an amazing speech, Rep. Peggy Flanagan give an amazing speech, watching Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn give an amazing speech, Rep. Rena Moran give the most heartfelt, incredible speech I've heard on this House floor, as long as I can remember, watching Rep. Ilhan Omar give an amazing speech... and looking around, to see, where are my colleagues? And I went in the retiring room, and I saw where a bunch of my colleagues were. And I'm really tired of watching women of color, in particular, being ignored. So, I'm not sorry.