Apparently, Topeka is looking to celebrate Domestic Violence Awareness Month by decriminalizing it.
Jezebel:
One county in Kansas has decided to… close a budgetary hole by opening a legal loophole that would pass domestic battery prosecution off to another municipality. In doing so, they’ve initiated a budgetary standoff that may lead to the city of Topeka completely decriminalizing domestic violence.
That’s messed-up enough that I thought it could maybe be some sort of rumor gone awry. But here’s the Topeka Capital-Journal reporting on it, and here’s a press release from the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence. Just, wow. Stay classy, Kansas.
How long before they start burning “witches” at the stake?
Waste, fraud, and abuse! Legal protections for battered women must count as one of these, right? That’s what the “government so small you can drown it in the tub” teabagger types are convinced everything can be boiled down to, isn’t it?
@1 Actually, that’s why they got away with this travesty, because every time there are good laws to protect people, others find a way to turn them into witch hunts.
If the rest of the nation starts to follow this example it will undo all the work that’s been done to end domestic abuse as a whole. This is NOT a political beach ball to be bounced around, it is an issue of victim protection and empowerment. Making it into political banter will only hurt the victims of abuse by taking away the real problem here. All forms of domestic abuse need to be recognized, violence was just the first step, and people want to stop the movement forward because they want to think they own their mates and children. Sorry, but you don’t own them, you don’t get to hurt them in any way. End the witch hunt style abuse of the laws, but don’t take steps backward. If I lived in that county I would leave very quickly, and never return, because if they are willing to use victims as political fodder then there is no hope for their leaders at all.
@3: Are you saying that overuse of domestic violence laws is the real problem here?
Great idea! Why bother decriminalizing consensual adult crimes like prostitution and drug use when we can decriminalize DV?
@5: Drug use is consensual now? I’ve never seen a pile of blow just BEG to be snorted. (Though I suppose some coke addicts have.)
It’s not being decriminalized. It’s a turf-war between who will actually do the prosecuting. Abusers will have still comitted a crime, but if it was a misdemeanor they’re just going to sit on it until this sorts out. Felons are most likely still going to be charged.