“A good idea isa good idea”, says the Star-Telegram.Especially when it comes to the health and well-being of women, some good ideasare better. To this end, almost everybody agrees, almost.
Creating a Sexual AssaultForensic Evidence Registry that will help eliminate the horrible backlog of400,000 untested rape kits is a good idea, because it would expedite bringing sexualpredators to justice.
Justice delayed is justice denied for victims of sex crimes. The delaymeans having to live with a nightmare every day of their lives, fearing theirassailant is still on the prowl.
Texas State Senator WendyDavis came to therescue of these victims when she championed SB 1636, which imposes a time limit on processing these rape kits,some of which date back 20 years or more.
Women want Justice. Victims need closure.
U.S. Senator John Cornyn agreed and drafted a similar bill in theCongress. And amid great fanfare over the bill’s passage out the Senate JudiciaryCommittee on Thursday, Davis joined hands with Cornyn in celebration. ADemocrat one hand and a Republican on the other, some issues are greater thanboth.
The vast backlog of unprocessed rape kits in Texas is currentlybeing slowly aided along by federal grants, because most localities cannotafford the $1000 processing cost. This means, however, that as the backlog grows,sexual predators will be walking the streets.
Davis drafted SB1636 in order to force law enforcement agenciesto give account of these unsolved rape cases and the backlog of DNA evidence.But some critics complained that it created an “unfunded mandate” upon localgovernments. Therefore, instead of forcing these agencies to bear a cost beyondtheir means, Davis softened the bill with the insertion “as funding becameavailable”. As a result, SB1636 passed unanimously.
Where Davis’ SB 1636leaves off, John Cornyn’s SAFER Act(S.3250) in the U.S. Congress picks up. It amends the DNA Analysis BacklogElimination Act of 2000 and goes beyond the Debbie Smith grants to expedite auditing sexual assault evidencebacklogs and to establish a Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry.
NOTE:Society should spare no expense when it comes to Public Safety. And, though thewheels of Justice grind slowly, this state and federal legislation would helpbring some closure to an old wound of unresolved cold cases.
Everybodybelieves this is good idea, right? Wrong.
StateRepresentative Dr. Mark Shelton, R-FortWorth, voted against SB 1636. Considering all opposition removed, why would he,of all people, vote against it? Doesn’t he care about the health and well-beingof women? After all, he is a pediatrician. Surely, he must have treated childrape victims.
Or,was it personal politics, a vindictive vote against Sen. Wendy Davis, who hasbecome a champion of women’s causes in the state legislature, and whose senateseat he covets? If so, it appears that women’s health and well-being have takena back seat to Shelton’s political aspiration. And, it would be a fairspeculation to assume that he never laid eyes on the bill, nor seriouslyconsidered its discussion. So, how much more could he care for rape victims?
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