Former Lt. Gov. of New York: Democrats trying to criminalize normal sexual behavior

Former Lt. Gov. of New York: Democrats trying to criminalize normal sexual behavior

Betsy McCaughey, former Lieutenant Governor of New York and current senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, is warning that Governor Cuomo and his Democrat colleagues are “criminaliz(ing) normal sexual interactions,” and making college campuses “a hostile environment for young men.”

Cuomo has been urging passage of what he calls “the toughest law in the nation” on campus sexual assault, legislation that would require “affirmative consent” prior to engaging in sexual activity.

The New York Times explains that the law would place “the burden on an accused student to show that the other person had agreed to the sexual activity, rather than making accusers prove that they had said no.”

They add that “silence or lack of resistance would not be considered consent.”

In other words, should you not gather some sort of an agreement prior to a sexual encounter, and then later be accused of assault, you could be successfully punished.  And since most cases involving assault accusations between two people in a private setting would amount to a he said/she said, a verbal agreement would not constitute the best defense.

McCaughey writes in the New York Post:

Gov. Cuomo is pushing for passage of what he calls “the toughest law in the nation” against campus sexual violence.

It would make campuses in New York a hostile environment for young men. One misstep and they could find themselves accused of “sexual assault,” denied a fair hearing, expelled and unemployable.

The law would apply at all private colleges in the state, extending regulations that Cuomo has already imposed on the state university system.

Everyone should want to prevent rape. But Cuomo’s bill criminalizes normal sexual interactions.

The bill requires “affirmative consent” at each step of the way when two students have sexual contact. Amazingly, that means punishing students who fail to ask “May I unbutton your blouse?” and “May I kiss you?” and wait for the answer. On May 20, Cuomo said there has to be “clear, unambiguous and voluntary agreement” before any “specific sexual activity.”

The former Lieutenant Governor cites a specific example provided by Yale University, in which most people do not see any evidence of sexual assault, but which the college deems inappropriate and would likely result in punishment.

That hypothetical scenario can be seen below …

Criminalized sex

“Did you notice any assault?” McCaughey asks.  “Probably not. But according to Yale, Kai would be guilty of sexual assault and reprimanded, marring his college record.”

Normal sexual behavior, in this scenario, is now worthy of reprimand.

Cuomo’s bill also labels any accuser immediately as either a “victim” or “survivor” an inherent bias in the legislation that already assumes guilt for the accused.

McCaughey adds that should Cuomo’s sexual assault bill be passed, “parents with sons should think twice about sending them to college in New York.”

Cross-posted at The Mental Recession.

Rusty Weiss

Rusty Weiss

Rusty Weiss is editor of the Mental Recession, one of the top conservative blogs of 2012. His writings have appeared at the Daily Caller, American Thinker, FoxNews.com, Big Government, the Times Union, and the Troy Record.

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