California Legislators Want to Tell College Kids When to Have Sex

California Legislators Want to Tell College Kids When to Have Sex - Hit & Run : Reason.com:

The California state legislature is eagerly jumping into bed with college students but really killing the mood with some unsexy rules.

State Sen. Kevin de Leon (D–Los Angeles) has introduced a bill that would require state universities to set strict parameters on what constitutes consensual sex. According to the text of SB 967, the student initiating sexual contact must establish "affirmative consent," defined as:

an affirmative, unambiguous, and conscious decision by each participant to engage in mutually agreed-upon sexual activity. Consent is informed, freely given, and voluntary. It is the responsibility of the person initiating the sexual activity to ensure that he or she has the consent of the other person to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent.

Consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual encounter and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.

The bill also explicitly lists several circumstances in which the initiator can be convicted of rape even after obtaining consent:

(A) The accused's belief in consent arose from the self-induced intoxication or recklessness of the accused.

(B) The accused did not take reasonable steps, in the circumstances known to the accused at the time, to ascertain that the complainant was consenting.