Ultraviolet
The petition to New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie reads:
We are a community of women, gender-expansive people, survivors of sexual violence, and allies, who are deeply disturbed over the horrific allegations that a 20-year-old Cornell University student was drugged and brutally gang-raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024. Worse, we are horrified that Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten cited New York's 'voluntary intoxication exclusion' as one reason he decided not to charge any of the alleged perpetrators.Let us be clear: there is no valid consent when someone is intoxicated. New York state law, as it is today, in essence, lays the blame and shame on survivors and lets perpetrators off the hook, which is completely unacceptable. We count on you, Governor Hochul and Speaker Heastie, to correct this injustice and call for an extraordinary session of the New York State Assembly to pass Assembly Bill A101, which would close the voluntary intoxication exclusion.
We are a community of women, gender-expansive people, survivors of sexual violence, and allies, who are deeply disturbed over the horrific allegations that a 20-year-old Cornell University student was drugged and brutally gang-raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024. Worse, we are horrified that Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten cited New York's 'voluntary intoxication exclusion' as one reason he decided not to charge any of the alleged perpetrators.Let us be clear: there is no valid consent when someone is intoxicated. New York state law, as it is today, in essence, lays the blame and shame on survivors and lets perpetrators off the hook, which is completely unacceptable.
We count on you, Governor Hochul and Speaker Heastie, to correct this injustice and call for an extraordinary session of the New York State Assembly to pass Assembly Bill A101, which would close the voluntary intoxication exclusion.
A former Cornell University student filed a lawsuit alleging she was drugged and gang raped inside a fraternity house in 2024, which rightfully prompted a reopening of the case. The details of what this survivor experienced are horrific and triggering, which is why we will not rehash them here.
However, equally disturbing and triggering are the responses of Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who two years ago decided to close the case by not charging her alleged rapists or even investigating the crime. Van Houten cited New York's state "voluntary intoxication exclusion," which the victim's testimony showed the alleged rapists did not violate New York's state laws for consent since she chose to drink alcohol.
Whoa. Is this 1999? No one can consent when they are drunk. Full stop.
Governor Hochul and Assembly Speaker Heastie must step in and correct this injustice by closing this "intoxicated loophole" in New York's laws. Sign the petition to demand they call for an extraordinary session of the Assembly to pass Assembly Bill A101.