Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Creeper of the Day

Tennessee State Senator Doug Henry, arguing that (sigh) rape just isn't what it used to be:
“Rape, ladies and gentlemen, is not today what rape was. Rape, when I was learning these things, was the violation of a chaste woman, against her will, by some party not her spouse. Today it’s simply, ‘Let’s don’t go forward with this act.’ ”

Via Feministing, who got it from Ema.

Shall we debate whether his implicit claim that marital rape is impossible is more or less appalling than his implicit claim that raping a woman who isn't "chaste" is impossible? No, let's not.

UPDATE: Here's the YouTube of the speech. Right after the quoted part, Sen. Henry says something unintelligible that has variously been interpreted as "that isn't rape" or "that is rape." I can't make heads or tails of it myself.

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