🚨 DEFENSE SECRETARY SAYS WOMEN SHOULDN’T VOTE?! 🚨
Welcome to The Josh Lafazan Show. Today, we’re talking about something that’s not just outrageous — it’s dangerous for our democracy.
U.S. Defense Secretary and Trump ally Pete Hegseth recently shared a clip saying women shouldn’t have the right to vote — openly suggesting we repeal the 19th Amendment of the Constitution. That’s the amendment, ratified in 1920, that guarantees women the right to vote. For more than 100 years, it’s been a cornerstone of American democracy.
Now, in 2025, one of the highest-ranking officials in the federal government is floating the idea of taking it away. Some will dismiss it as a joke or provocation, but when extreme ideas are repeated by powerful figures, they move from the fringe into the mainstream — and that’s exactly how rights get eroded.
⚖️ SEGMENT 1 – WHY THIS IDEA IS EXTREME & ANTI-DEMOCRATIC
Repealing the 19th Amendment would be one of the most sweeping acts of disenfranchisement in U.S. history. Women make up over half the electorate — they are leaders, veterans, business owners, and public servants. Silencing their voices would fundamentally break our democracy.
Even if Hegseth claims he’s “just stirring the pot,” extremist groups do exist today that believe women shouldn’t vote, hold office, or have the same political standing as men. Comments like his give those groups legitimacy.
✝️ SEGMENT 2 – THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT’S CAMPAIGN AGAINST WOMEN’S AUTONOMY
This rhetoric isn’t isolated — it’s part of a larger push by the religious right to roll back decades of progress.
We’ve seen:
State abortion bans with no exceptions for rape or incest
Efforts to limit or ban certain forms of birth control
Attacks on IVF and fertility treatments
Many of these policies are rooted in specific religious doctrines. For some on the far right, women should be “submissive” not only in the home, but in public life — a worldview that sees female leadership and political power as threats.
🇺🇸 SEGMENT 3 – WHY RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM & GOVERNMENT DON’T MIX
America was founded on the separation of church and state for a reason. The First Amendment protects every person’s right to practice any religion — or none at all — without the government imposing one belief system on everyone.
When one religion’s interpretation becomes law, civil liberties vanish. We’ve seen this in other countries — women lose rights, minorities are oppressed, dissent is punished. Our founders designed the U.S. to avoid exactly that outcome.
📜 SEGMENT 4 – THE GOP’S BROADER RELIGIOUS AGENDA
The call to repeal the 19th Amendment may sound fringe, but the broader GOP agenda is already blurring the lines between religion and government:
Bibles in classrooms
Ten Commandments mandated in public schools
School prayer brought back
Expanding “religious freedom” laws to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people
These steps chip away at the wall separating church and state — and once that wall falls, rights disappear quickly.
⚠️ SEGMENT 5 – WHY WE CAN’T IGNORE EXTREMIST TALK
People said Roe v. Wade would “never” be overturned. Now, abortion is banned or heavily restricted for millions. The far right tests ideas in public, gauges the reaction, and works to make them law.
If they’re willing to say out loud that women shouldn’t vote, they’re testing the waters for how far they can go in stripping away rights.
💡 SEGMENT 6 – THE TAKEAWAY
This isn’t just about reproductive rights — it’s about political power. Suggesting women shouldn’t vote is a trial balloon for a worldview that sees women as second-class citizens under the law.
And when religious extremism gains a foothold in government, everyone’s rights are at risk — not just women’s, not just non-Christians’, but the entire foundation of our democracy.
📢 CALL TO ACTION
If you believe in protecting women’s rights, defending democracy, and keeping religion and government separate — speak up now.
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Because when dangerous ideas go unchallenged, they grow — and before you know it, they become law. We can’t let that happen.