“A good idea is
a good idea”, says the Star-Telegram.
Especially when it comes to the health and well-being of women, some good ideas
are better. To this end, almost everybody agrees, almost.
Creating a Sexual Assault
Forensic Evidence Registry that will help eliminate the horrible backlog of
400,000 untested rape kits is a good idea, because it would expedite bringing sexual
predators to justice.
Justice delayed is justice denied for victims of sex crimes. The delay
means having to live with a nightmare every day of their lives, fearing their
assailant is still on the prowl.
Texas State Senator Wendy
Davis came to the
rescue 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 the
Congress. And amid great fanfare over the bill’s passage out the Senate Judiciary
Committee on Thursday, Davis joined hands with Cornyn in celebration. A
Democrat one hand and a Republican on the other, some issues are greater than
both.
The vast backlog of unprocessed rape kits in Texas is currently
being slowly aided along by federal grants, because most localities cannot
afford 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 agencies
to give account of these unsolved rape cases and the backlog of DNA evidence.
But some critics complained that it created an “unfunded mandate” upon local
governments. Therefore, instead of forcing these agencies to bear a cost beyond
their means, Davis softened the bill with the insertion “as funding became
available”. As a result, SB1636 passed unanimously.
Where Davis’ SB 1636
leaves off, John Cornyn’s SAFER Act
(S.3250) in the U.S. Congress picks up. It amends the DNA Analysis Backlog
Elimination Act of 2000 and goes beyond the Debbie Smith grants to expedite auditing sexual assault evidence
backlogs and to establish a Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry.
NOTE:
Society should spare no expense when it comes to Public Safety. And, though the
wheels of Justice grind slowly, this state and federal legislation would help
bring some closure to an old wound of unresolved cold cases.
Everybody
believes this is good idea, right? Wrong.
State
Representative Dr. Mark Shelton, R-Fort
Worth, 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-being
of women? After all, he is a pediatrician. Surely, he must have treated child
rape victims.
Or,
was it personal politics, a vindictive vote against Sen. Wendy Davis, who has
become a champion of women’s causes in the state legislature, and whose senate
seat he covets? If so, it appears that women’s health and well-being have taken
a back seat to Shelton’s political aspiration. And, it would be a fair
speculation to assume that he never laid eyes on the bill, nor seriously
considered its discussion. So, how much more could he care for rape victims?
