The bill would remove first cousins from the list of family members with whom it's illegal to have sexual relations in the state.
  • KarsicKarl@kbin.social
    0·
    10 months ago

    This was a mistake in the bill which he retracted, amended and resubmitted.

    The first cousins are safe, legally anyway.

    What I don’t get is I assume they had a law so why was this needed?

    • ExcursionInversion@lemmy.worldEnglish
      01·
      10 months ago

      Yea, news article I saw said he posted this about it

      I filed HB 269 yesterday. The purpose of the bill is to add “sexual contact” to the incest statute. Currently, incest only applies in cases of intercourse. So sexual touching/groping by uncles, stepdads or anyone with a familial relationship is not included in incest. My bill makes that kind of sexual contact a Class D Felony, unless the victim is under the age of 12, then it increases the penalty to a Class C Felony.

      During the drafting process, there was an inadvertent change, which struck “first cousins” from the list of relationships included under the incest statute, and I failed to add it back in. During today’s session, I will withdraw HB 269 and refile a bill with the “first cousin” language intact. The fact that I was able to file a bill, catch the mistake, withdraw the bill and refile within a 24 hour period shows that we have a good system.

      This is a bill to combat a problem of familial and cyclical abuse that transcends generations of Kentuckians. I understand that I made a mistake, but I sincerely hope my mistake doesn’t hurt the chances of the corrected version of the bill. It is a good bill, and I hope it will get a second chance.