Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Gillbrand Seeks Another Vote on Military's Handling of Sexual Assault Cases
Sexual assault cases have made headlines recently, and so Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand is pushing for another vote on a bill that would remove sexual assault prosecutions from the oversight of military commanders. Although many members of each party are in favor of this bill, voting earlier this year could not break a filibuster. In addition, there is concern that if this bill is passed, it opens up the door to other bills being passed. These complications with the bill are slowing down and threatening bipartisan legislation on a large defense bill that must be passed before the end of this year. Should Congress attempt to incorporate these bills into the legislation at the risk of the key bipartisan legislation being passed?
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I think more attention should be brought to this issue, as it is terrible, but I don't think military commanders should be removed from the process. There is definitely a better way to serve justice in these cases; I feel that military commanders are capable of just decisions and discipline. I don't think this bill will pass, but I hope that more attention will be brought towards these sexual assault cases, and a better way of insuring justice arises.
ReplyDeleteLike Rachel, I think that more attention should be paid to this issue. I don't think the resolution is to break the chain of command and remove the military commanders from this process. What needs to be corrected is the way people don't feel safe enough and fear retributions if they report sexual assaults.
ReplyDeleteI don't see why this is an issue in the first place. Sexual assault is sexual assault whether the people involved serve in the military or not. Every victim and every abuser should be treated the same way in the legal system without the bias of a chain of command. If victims aren't speaking up for fear of retribution from those in higher command, there is a problem in the system.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Antonella on this one. Sexual assault is a very serious crime and should be treated the same whether you are in the military, and NFL star, or just a normal person. This crime is one crime that should have no exceptions at all.
ReplyDeleteI find it truly sad that there are people who feel that it is not safe come forward and report a sexual assault. That needs to be changed. Like Antonella said, regardless of who is involved, sexual assault is the same across the board. I agree with Mike that this particular crime should have no excpetions at all.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Antonella and Mike here. I do believe that there is a problem if sexual assault in the military is not being brought forth because of fear of retribution. It should not be this way and should be treated like any other sexual assault case. However, I do not know if it is a good idea to attempt to include it in this bipartisan defense bill. While I understand the need to address this issue, at the same time it is problematic if it ends up holding up a bipartisan bill.
ReplyDeleteSexual assault, like previously stated, is not a changing matter. It does not differ whether or not you're an average citizen, a famous person or in the military. Therefore, each case should be dealt with with the same charges and consequences. Like Antonella said, if people are holding back from speaking up, there is a serious problem in our system that needs to be looked at and fixed.
ReplyDeleteSexual assault is so messed up and it's so sad that people being assaulted cannot come forwards because they are scared to report it. Every abuser should be treated the same way, no exceptions. There needs some sort of change for this issue. We should be focusing on this issue more.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, I believe having sexual assault abusers tried in military courts would lead to more stringent punishment, especially because of the extensive honor codes upheld by each branch of the military. In addition, if the crime occurs under the watch of the military, it would be best to let the military deal with the issue because they will have the easiest access to evidence etc. Commanders certainly should not be able to over turn decisions in sexual assault cases, but the decisions should be made within the chain of command. After all, it may compromise the military's ability to discipline its troops if all crimes are tried in civilian courts. Because of the stark polarity in Washington at the moment, this issue should not hold up the chance to pass a bipartisan bill. I think it should be dealt with in the vey her future.
ReplyDeleteSexual assault should be dealt with in a serious manner. Each case should be treated as a sexual assault case not a specific person assault case. People in the military shouldn't have to feel worried about retributions when reporting sexual assault. Unfortunately that's how it is though and while I don't think commanders should be fully removed, I do believe this should be handled much more seriously
ReplyDeleteBy having commanding officers involved in these sexual assault cases you create a conflict of interests. If the commanding officer reports sexual assault, it makes him look bad, so he has no reason to report that sexual assault. This is the same conflict of interest that led to the negligence of the catholic church in wake of there sexual assault scandal. I believe that commanders shouldn't have any say in this issue.
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