CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Married people in West Virginia could be charged with certain acts of sexual abuse against their spouses for the first time under a bill passed by the state Senate. The bill pushed by former prosecuting attorney Republican Sen. Ryan Weld would remove marriage as a defense to first- and third-degree sexual assault. There are two crimes of sexual violence outlined in West Virginia code. One is penetrative assault and the other is the forcible touching of a person’s sexual organs, breasts, and some other areas by another person. For the latter offense, there exists a martial exemption that shields a person from conviction if the crime is perpetrated against their spouse.
I saw my state mentioned and immediately came to jump in with the “JFC, really?” but this isn’t awful for once. More of an “about time!”, but I’ll take it.
Going to have to read the whole bill because as much as I want to, I do not believe we’re actually passing helpful legislation without some kind of horrible addendum lurking underneath.
Yeah, I’m wondering what the catch is.