Two years ago, on April 10, a mentally unstable 25-year-old walked into Old National Bank in Louisville and shot five people to death — Thomas Elliott, James Tutt Jr., Juliana Farmer, Joshua Barrick, Deana Eckert — and injured eight, including Nickolas Wilt, a young police officer who was shot in the head and miraculously survived.
Two years ago, Dr. Jason Smith, the chief medical officer at University of Louisville Hospital, called on lawmakers to address gun violence. “To everyone who helps make policy, both at state, city, (and) federal levels – I would simply ask you to do something. Because doing nothing — which is what we’ve been doing — is not working.”
Two years later, Kentucky’s powerful GOP supermajority has still done absolutely nothing.
In the closing hours of the 2025 General Assembly, during which they did not so much as breathe the words “gun violence” or “firearm safety,” Rep. Bill Wesley appeared outside a women’s restroom to tackle what he clearly believes is the real threat to public safety: a drag queen standing outside the women’s restroom.
Why? Because Republicans know what sells. They know the sick curiosity about what’s between someone’s legs – not real issues like gun deaths – is political gold.
For all the talk of Democrats running recently on “the trans issue” (a wholly made-up thing), this has been a GOP-instigated rallying cry from the start. Republicans, in the summer of 2022, suddenly found themselves desperately in need of a new culture war strategy.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade left Republicans across the country flat-footed as they lost the one issue they could count on, the battering ram they’d used for decades to drive donations and voters to the polls. With abortion suddenly illegal in many states, including Kentucky, they needed a new cudgel, a sure thing to get and keep voters’ attention, and they found it — akin to the issue of pregnancy and abortion — in the curiosity of what goes on between people’s legs.
If this sounds blunt or sick or crass to you, it’s because it is.
It is also the truth.
The morning after Wesley bullied a trans woman outside the women’s restroom — and that is what he did, bullied someone with no power for show — the story, along with video and photos, was all over social media.
Wesley’s buddies in the House publicly cheered him on. Rep. Ryan Dotson wrote on Facebook, “I’m so proud of State Representative Bill Wesley as he protected 2 young girls and their mother from going in to the Women’s restroom after a man dressed like a woman goes in,” and Rep. TJ Roberts posted on X, “Very thankful for KSP and @realBillWesley for keeping women and girls safe today!”
Wesley now says he will “introduce legislation banning men from using women’s restrooms at the state Capitol following an incident involving a transgender woman in Frankfort.”
Wow! Look at how fast they can decide to file a bill when it is politically expedient.
Meanwhile, Everytown for Gun Safety reports that an average of 842 Kentuckians die each year from gun violence, at a cost of $9.6 billion each year. But what do we hear, year after year, from Wesley and his chest-pounding, gotta-protect-the-women-folk colleagues on gun violence prevention? Crickets.
As if bullying a Capitol visitor outside the women’s restroom was not enough, Wesley and others made more hay, claiming on social media that he was slapped by state Sen. Karen Berg after they exchanged words about the incident.
I admit, I was appalled when I first read this, imagining Sen. Berg slapping him in the face, because isn’t that what a slap is? This rumor spread like wildfire.
The problem is that it wasn’t exactly true.
Berg did not slap Wesley on the face. After talking to him, she slapped him on the back of his shoulder as she was walking away. For this – for this! – House Speaker David Osborne permanently banned her from the House floor.
When I was at church on Sunday, our retired office manager did exactly the same to me as she walked by my pew. “Good to see you!” she said as she passed by, slapping me twice on the back of my shoulder. Did I post all over social media that I was slapped at church? Should my minister ban this woman from church? Of course not. Because that would be ridiculous.
And that is what the entire Bill Wesley incident has been — ridiculous — but it sure has gotten him a lot of attention.
Two years have passed since the Old National Bank mass shooting.
Two years since Dr. Smith addressed the media. “To be honest with you, we barely had to adjust our operating room schedule to be able to do this. That’s how frequent we are having to deal with gun violence in our community,” he said. “I’ll tell you personally, I’m weary. … I’m more than tired, I’m weary. There’s only so many times you can walk into a room and tell someone their (loved one)] is not coming home tomorrow. And it just breaks your heart when you hear someone screaming mommy, or daddy, it just becomes too hard, day in and day out, to be able to do that.”
Two years.
And what have our lawmakers — our powerful Republican supermajority — done to address Dr. Smith’s concerns? Not one damn thing. They are too busy touting their sick obsession with genitalia because that is what brings in the donations and brings out their voting base.
Need proof?
Hours after the 2025 General Assembly ended, after he and others had been wildly posting and making hay of his dramatic bathroom brouhaha, Rep. Bill Wesley posted on his Facebook page, “I came home from a good session being in Frankfort, and to come home to find out that the Democrat party is already sending out somebody door knocking to have me replaced. I didn’t even get home to rest any (sic) But so be it, let the race begin. If anybody wants to give to my campaign, I would greatly appreciate it. Just hit on the link below. It’s called Win Red. Thank you.”
Rep. Bill Wesley was not protecting women and girls at our state Capitol; he was not slapped in the face by a female senator; he went viral on social media and then asked for donations to his campaign.
The Kentucky GOP proves year after year after year that they do not care one bit about your safety from real threats like gun violence.
They care about what gets your attention.
They care about what brings in the money honey, so they can be reelected and keep their supermajority and do absolutely nothing again next year.
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