After a week of public outcry over his comments about domestic violence victims, Rep. John Graham Altman apologized Tuesday to the House of Representatives and anyone else he offended.

Last week, after the House Judiciary committee he's a member of tabled a tougher domestic violence bill, he said there should never be a second offense because victims shouldn't go back to their abusers. Those who work with victims say victims often have no other choice because they have no money or nowhere else to go.

The same committee also passed a bill to stiffen penalties against cockfighting, making it a felony. When a reporter asked Altman if lawmakers valued the life of a gamecock over the life of a woman, he told her she wasn't very bright.

"I apologize for this episode," Rep. Altman told the House Tuesday. "I deeply regret that I offended anyone."

After the uproar, House leaders rewrote the domestic violence bill to address concerns that caused it to be tabled in the first place. They introduced it Tuesday and put it on the House calendar for debate as early as Wednesday, bypassing the committee process and giving the bill a chance to pass this year.

But Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, one of the main sponsors of the original bill, took her name off the new version. "I took my name off the bill because the bill has now become a vehicle for Republican damage control, and as a very good, strong Democrat I didn't want to be a part of that," she says.

Asked if it bothers her that Rep. Altman is now a co-sponsor after causing such an uproar and offending people who work with domestic violence victims, she said, "Quite frankly, his show of ignorance and the statements he made is why all of them got embarrassed and rushed to the rescue. So, quite frankly, I think John Graham Altman deserves some credit."