We respectfully ask the committed readership of The Spearhead to sign the Petition to oppose the SaVE Act, found here: http://www.change.org/petitions/reject-the-proposed-save-act-absent-amendments-to-protect-the-presumptively-innocent
The proposed legislation in question, officially called The Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (SaVE Act) (S.834), has been introduced in the U.S. Senate to combat sexual violence on college campuses. The problem with the bill is that it will enhance the risk of holding innocent young men accountable for sexual offenses they did not commit.
The bill mandates the following regarding college disciplinary proceedings:
“Each institution of higher education participating in any program under this title . . . shall develop and distribute . . . a statement of policy regarding . . . Procedures for institutional disciplinary action in cases of an alleged incident of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, which shall include a clear statement that– (I) such proceedings shall–(aa) provide a prompt and equitable resolution; (bb) be conducted by officials who receive annual training on the issues related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and how to conduct an investigation and hearing process that protects the safety of victims and promotes accountability; and (cc) use the preponderance of the evidence standard.”
In a nutshell: the new law would require schools to switch to the “preponderance of the evidence” standard, which requires only a slight probability that the accused committed the offense in order to punish him. It most certainly will increase the risk of holding innocent men responsible for sex offenses they did not commit. As the Petition says: “It is a hallmark of the American experience and a universally accepted tenet of the common law tradition that it is better that persons responsible for offenses not be held accountable than to hold innocent persons responsible for wrongs they did not commit.”
Beyond that, the persons who conduct disciplinary hearings are to receive training about how to conduct a hearing “that protects the safety of victims and promotes accountability.” Nowhere in the bill is there even a hint, much less any requirement, that these persons should receive training about protecting the critical rights of the presumptively innocent who are accused of these offenses. The words “promotes accountability” is a code for “imposing more severe punishments.” It is widely believed among persons who are pushing for measures of this nature that the punishments college men receive for sex offenses are far too lenient.
There are other serious things wrong with this bill, but the aforementioned are so fundamental to our sons’ liberty, that it suffices to focus on them.
The purpose of this bill is to hold more college men responsible for sexual assault and related offenses. To the extent it snags some rapists, all well and good. The problem is that the Democrats behind the bill (Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)) haven’t given any thought to whether it might cause innocent people to be punished for offenses they didn’t commit. More frightening: perhaps Senators Casey and Murry have thought about it, and just don’t give a damn.
We are aware that our petition will not change minds. But we are hoping that it will help, in some way, to inject these critical issues into the public discourse. Please sign it here: http://www.change.org/petitions/reject-the-proposed-save-act-absent-amendments-to-protect-the-presumptively-innocent
Thank you for your help.
