Dark Christianity
dark_christian
.::: .::..:.::.:.

May 2008
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dogemperor [userpic]
In the rush to ban gay marriage, Ohio's religious conservatives leave women vulnerable

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY [info]kiji_kat)

Please note that the following post could be triggering for some individuals.

So if you're an unmarried woman in Ohio, and your boyfriend beats you up, you are not protected by the law.

Yes kids, that's right. If I was dating and living with some misogynistic asshole* who decided that I was getting smart and/or uppity, he could beat the shit out of me and get away with it. Why? Because according to Ohio law, only "people living as a spouse" are covered by domestic violence laws. And though common sense would say that I should be protected, I don't necessarily have to be, according to the way the law is worded.

So guess what? Some guy beat the shit out of his girlfriend, and he's challenging the charges brought against him because he's not married to the woman he physically assaulted, and therefore isn't technically guilty of domestic violence, according to Ohio law**. And the really fun part? The Citizens for Community Values (which is affiliated with Focus on the Family and Family Research Council as a Family Policy Council in Ohio) is supporting this guy's case. Why? Because the law was specifically written this way as an anti-gay marriage measure. No, really. That's their reasoning.

So what's the big deal? Wouldn't women be covered under normal assault laws? True, but domestic violence laws make special provisions to protect victims:

In general, domestic violence protective order laws establish who can file for an order, what protection or relief a person can get from such an order, and how the order will be enforced. While there are differences from state to state, all protective order statutes permit the court to order the abuser to stay away from you, your home, your workplace or your school ("stay away" provisions) and to stop contacting you. You generally also can ask the court to order that all contact, whether by telephone, notes, mail, fax, email or delivery of flowers or gifts, is prohibited ("no contact" provisions). Courts can also order the abuser to stop hurting or threatening you ("cease abuse" provisions). (From www.womenslaw.org

Thank you, Ohio social conservatives, for keeping women in their place. You've just given me another reason to get the hell out of here.


*Which, by the way, I'm not. Trust me, I know how lucky I am to have a boyfriend who respects women and who would probably be just as outraged as I am about this, if he was an Ohio resident. Hell, he'll probably be outraged anyway. Because he's not some misogynistic asshole. Fancy that, ladies.

**Unless, of course, she was pregnant. But the charge wouldn't be domestic violence in that case - it would be "endangering a fetus." And they'd be endangering that fetus by damaging that fetus's life-support system, which is technically a biological incubator. So what they'd really be guilty of was damaging an incubator. Which is vandalism, which I believe is only a misdemeanor. Funny how that works, innit?

Current Mood: enraged