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.
Ya know what, there’s a lot of truth to this. Some of it will get done, it’s just that you gotta wait for at least one generation to die to do anything major.
I’ve heard conservatism described as “keeping what we have because it’s pretty good” but that’s always felt pretty hollow to me.