Senate Bill 199 Win!

Recently we celebrated a major legislative victory! Since 2017 the media has aggressively covered the case of the “consent loophole” and the tides have turned with the outcome of that reporting. We can now successfully say that NC is no longer the only state with a regressive law that says a person cannot legally withdraw their consent after sex is initiated. What we would consider common sense is now codified in legislation. If things turn violent or aggressive or you are simply no longer enjoying the experience you have every right to say no and the other person must respect your wish and comply. It is not a ridiculously hard concept to grasp, yet this has been on our law books for 40 years, until now.

Other loopholes in this decades old case law made it permissible to have sex with a person who was incapacitated by drugs or alcohol, if that person was responsible for their own state of incapacitation. Along with this bill fixing consent and incapacitation issues, the bill makes it illegal to drug someone’s food or drink, expands the requirement to report child abuse, extends the statute of limitations for a civil action for child sexual abuse, and tightens bans on online conduct by high-risk sex offenders that endangers children. For example, the bill makes it a misdemeanor for anyone 18 years old or older not to report child sexual abuse.

This bill will be signed today by Governor Cooper.

For more information on all the sections of Senate Bill 199, read here.