A Georgia lawmaker wants to make it so rapists are charged with the crime, no matter whom they assault.
In Georgia, a person can only be charged with rape when a man assaults a woman.
State Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta, said it's time the state revises its outdated laws to allow all victims of rape to seek full justice through the courts.
“These crimes are heinous, and those who commit them need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” she said during a Thursday press conference.
Currently, if an offense is not a man assaulting a woman, he or she must be charged with sexual assault, a lesser offense than rape that carries lesser penalties. Someone convicted of rape can face the death penalty. A person convicted of aggravated sexual assault can receive a maximum sentence of life in prison.
James introduced Senate Bill 145 last year, and although it received a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, no action was taken. She said she is hoping to gain some support for the proposal this year.
“It is necessary to update our archaic state law defining who is a victim of rape to represent all survivors and victims of assault,” said Amari Fennoi, a junior at Spelman College and a sexual assault survivor who is lobbying state lawmakers to support the bill.
“Rape culture affects gays, transgenders, men and women,” Fennoi said, “and they are not protected on college campuses, in prisons or around Georgia and we must make that change.”
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