Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, for 12 years, I've worked with victims of rape and incest. And for those of you who think you're carving out an exception for rape and incest, you're not. {time} 1750 If you were truly carving out an exception, you wouldn't be making it contingent on things that silence victims, things they have no control over, like being traumatized, like being threatened with your life if you talked, like not knowing the law because you're a minor and a victim of statutory rape. These are reasons why more than half the rapes are never reported. As a district attorney, I've had cases where the victims didn't even report; yet we were able to convict the perpetrators with other evidence. Reporting wasn't even necessary to convict criminals; but in this bill, it's necessary for a crime victim to exercise their constitutional right to privacy. Fundamentally, those who support the language in this bill don't understand that rape and incest are crimes. These are crimes of violence, crimes that you bring penalties to the perpetrator. This bill brings penalties to the victim.”