The Real Risks of Glitter Bombing

Glitter bombing started as a seemingly innocuous, if tongue-in-cheek, form of protest. Gay rights activists would just walk up to a Republican presidential candidate, throw a handful of glitter, sometimes shout a message, then walk away.

Not so anymore.

With the Secret Service dispatched to protect Mitt Romney, and perhaps other candidates soon, glitter bombing is quickly getting treated like a potential assault on a potential president. This could be seen in action on CNN as a student in Colorado approached Romney after his concession speech there and tried to glitter the candidate only to have Secret Service officers grab him, then surround him for questioning.

Reuters reports that Peter Smith, 20, could face multiple misdemeanor charges. And now TheDenver Postreports that Smith has lost his internship with the state Senate's Democratic majority office, as chief of staff John Cevett wasn't pleased by the glitter incident.

The Post reports that Smith ended up with a citation for the disturbance. If convicted, Smith could get up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to Reuters.

Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who is a Fox News host, was among the first to call for criminal prosecution of glitter bombers. He claimed glitter bombing a form of assault.

The Hill newspaper, distributed on Capitol Hill, actually published a detailed article about the physical dangers posed by glitter. It suggested a shard of metallic sparkle in the eye could scratch and lead to blindness. If inhaled, glitter could cause a debilitating infection.

By now, all of the major Republican presidential candidates have been glitter-bombed by gay rights activists -- especially Rick Santorum, whose antigay views are legion. As they passed through Minnesota, all four of them got a sparkly shower. None have reported any injuries.