SALT LAKE CITY -- There is a new twist in Utah in the debate about whether or not the U.S. should start accepting refugees from Syria with Utah House Minority Leader Brian King tweeting out, “Astonishing to me how fear based so many of my legislative colleagues are. #bedwetters Man (and woman) up!”
"I want to push back strongly and aggressively against people who are appealing to base fear,” King said of that tweet.
He did not call out any individual for their comments about Syrian refugees, but his tweet did come about the same time as a meeting of the Utah Republican caucus.
"We spoke about the Syrian refugee issue as a Republican caucus in the house today,” said Utah Speaker of the House Greg Hughes.
Hughes said the discussion was a showing of support for Utah’s federal delegation, backing HR 4038--which was introduced in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. The resolution calls for a pause before allowing refugees to enter the country.
"I think that there are 30 governors in this country also looking for a pause,” Hughes said.
Governor Herbert tweeted his support for the resolution, writing, “I support #HR4038, which increases the rigor of the screening process for refugees coming to the U.S. but stops short of an outright ban.”
President Obama has vowed to veto the resolution if it lands on his desk, setting up a showdown in Washington.
In Utah, King’s tweet about ‘bedwetters’ and calls to ‘man up’ is putting a light note on his serious accusation that some are using fear for political gain.
"It's my way of trying to say, come on people, lets not be nattering nay-bobs of negativity," King said. "Let's not be fearful when there is no good reason to be fearful."
