Republicans Say the Darndest Things: Sex With an Unconscious Person, Not Always Rape

On Tuesday, the Utah legislature's Judiciary Committee considered HB74, a bill that would update the state's rape statute to make it clear that a person who is unconscious cannot give their consent, therefore, having sex with an unconscious person is, indeed, rape.

Local prosecutors said without this clarification, they felt the rape statute was ambiguous and they were hesitant to bring cases of rape to court where the victim was unconscious at the time of the assault.

Utah State Representative 

Brian Greene (R)

As outrageous as that may seem, it was State Representative Brian Greene (R) who really pushed common sense right out the window.  Mr. Greene voiced concerns over the bill saying that he wasn't really sure if having sex with an unconscious person should count as rape in all cases.  He said he could see the rape allegation might be legitimate in a "first date scenario," but doubted that the rule should stand for married couples or individuals with a prior relationship.

Utah State Representative 

LaVar Christensen (R)

Representative LaVar Christensen agreed with Mr. Greene saying that always depicting sex with an unconscious person as rape seemed too "broad" a definition, and he wondered if the proposal might tip the scales in favor of the victim.

Representative Brian King (D) said sex with an unconscious person "(is) rape, period, end of story."

Prosecutors in Utah--or anywhere--being reluctant to prosecute cases of rape unless the victim is fully awake and aware throughout the attack would seem like the stuff of paranoid fantasy, until you consider there are people like Brian Greene and LaVar Christensen living and breathing on this planet. 

The bill eventually passed committee and will be presented to the full house where, hopefully, there are more Kings than there are Greenes or Christensens.