The Kansas law that makes it a crime to grope, rub or touch others in a sexual manner without their consent doesn’t apply to spouses, and state lawmakers are moving to eliminate the loophole after the same fix failed last year.
The Kansas House could debate a bill next week that would eliminate a provision in the law against sexual battery that says it does not apply when the victim is married to the offender. The law makes unwanted sexual touching, groping or grabbing a misdemeanor when no force or fear is involved and when the victim is 16 or older.
The bill cleared the House Judiciary Committee last week on a unanimous vote after no one spoke against it during a hearing.
Some lawmakers see the measure as correcting what they believe had to be an oversight or drafting error when lawmakers in 1983 eliminated the spousal exemption in the state law against rape. There is also no exemption for aggravated sexual battery, which is using force or fear in sexually touching someone without consent.
Rep. Brett Parker, an Overland Park Democrat, sponsored an identical bill last year, and the House Judiciary Committee endorsed it. But it didn’t get a vote before a crucial deadline for passing bills through their chamber of origin and was removed from the House calendar.
“The law should apply equally to everyone, and whether or not you’re married or not, you should have that same protection,” Parker said.