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Because it's cool to rape a single woman in California....just not a married chick.
SACREMENTO, CA (CNN) - A controversial law in California from the 1870s creates a woman's rights issue - prosecution of rape depending on marital status.
According to the California law from 1872, if a predator attacks a single woman without sexual consent, he cannot be prosecuted of rape; if the woman is married, then the predator would be convicted.
The recent overturning of a case where an unmarried woman was raped in her home sparked the controversy when the conviction of a confessed rapist was overturned.
The outrage on the outdated law is not the first. California State Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian introduced a bill in the California Assembly that would protect all women against rape by impersonation.
The bill, created in 2011, passed without a single vote against it in the state assembly. It failed to be passed in the California State Senate Public Safety Committee. The seven member committee never voted on it.
"When we're not able to protect woman's right in this 21st century, what's next," said Achadjian.
Due to a 2007 policy called the Recievership Overcrowding Crisis Aggravation Policy (ROCA), the committee does not vote on public safety bills that could add to the state's overcrowded prison population.
Critics of the law believe the committee misused the policy to avert making a tough decision. One person on the committee wants ROCA to be canceled so a vote on the law can happen.
Since the law has created public outrage, Achadjian was introduced a newer version of the bill to the state assembly, hoping that a vote happens this time.
Copyright 2013 CNN. All rights reserved.
SACREMENTO, CA (CNN) - A controversial law in California from the 1870s creates a woman's rights issue - prosecution of rape depending on marital status.
According to the California law from 1872, if a predator attacks a single woman without sexual consent, he cannot be prosecuted of rape; if the woman is married, then the predator would be convicted.
The recent overturning of a case where an unmarried woman was raped in her home sparked the controversy when the conviction of a confessed rapist was overturned.
The outrage on the outdated law is not the first. California State Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian introduced a bill in the California Assembly that would protect all women against rape by impersonation.
The bill, created in 2011, passed without a single vote against it in the state assembly. It failed to be passed in the California State Senate Public Safety Committee. The seven member committee never voted on it.
"When we're not able to protect woman's right in this 21st century, what's next," said Achadjian.
Due to a 2007 policy called the Recievership Overcrowding Crisis Aggravation Policy (ROCA), the committee does not vote on public safety bills that could add to the state's overcrowded prison population.
Critics of the law believe the committee misused the policy to avert making a tough decision. One person on the committee wants ROCA to be canceled so a vote on the law can happen.
Since the law has created public outrage, Achadjian was introduced a newer version of the bill to the state assembly, hoping that a vote happens this time.
Copyright 2013 CNN. All rights reserved.
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