There is a bill that was introduced into the Massachusetts legislature this year that is absolutely scary. Picture a possible scenario ... sitting in a cocktail lounge and you strike up a conversation with a member of the opposite sex. A little while later you are consensually engaged in the throes of passion and the sharing of mutual pleasures. An unusual occurrence? Hardly.
Now, fast forward to a few days later. You're sitting in jail charged with a crime because you lied. You told the other individual you're single, divorced or lost your spouse and it turns out you're married. While I'm not condoning such action, we all know it happens all the time. But the bill would allow you to be charged with "rape by deception." A game changer for thousands of people.
Perfect honesty in the age-old quest to get laid? Has that ever been a factor? For either gender?
A story, reported by the Associated Press today, tells of a Palestinian man who was sentenced to 18 months in jail for having sex with an Israeli woman after giving her the impression he was single, Jewish and interested in a relationship. He was convicted of "rape by deception."
The 30-year old, father of two, said he was approached by the woman on a downtown Jerusalem street where he had parked his motorcycle. Within 30 minutes of their initial encounter they were having consensual sex in the stairwell of an office building.
In sentencing the man, the judge wrote: "If she hadn't thought the accused was a single Jewish man interested in a serious romantic relationship, she would not have cooperated."
A "serious romantic relationship?" Having sex in a stairwell within 30 minutes of having said hello? Damn! And all of these folks spending money for speed dating and online matching sites ... what a waste of money.
Massachusetts' legislators say without the new legislation, police and prosecutors are virtually helpless when someone reports a rape that occurred because the victim was deceived or tricked into consenting. They cited a case in western Massachusetts in which a woman consented to intercourse with her boyfriend's brother because he claimed to be the brother.
Do I really need to add a caustic comment for the woman's mental prowess?
Four states, California, Tennessee, Alabama and Michigan already have statues on the books regarding "rape by fraud." In California a man was charged because he had sex with a woman who believed he was her husband.
Not only does this have the potential for a major set back in the "dating game" but just think of all the cougars out there who need to be cautious.
Perhaps, in the one person's view, we could label this type of legislation as asinine; as taken from the Latin asinisus or asinus meaning 1) extremely or utterly foolish 2) of, relating to, or resembling an ass. Not my words but the definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
"Resembling an ass?" Isn't that what this whole thing is about?
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