NY to pass "Rape is Rape" bill

[bobclark86]

3. Rape in New York isn't what it is in most places...

Rape is generally used for what other places call "statutory rape," as in you're a 90-year-old dude with a 5-year-old girl, or you rape someone who isn't legally consenting (like those classified as such by a court, mostly the developmentally disabled).

Third-degree rape
http://law.onecle.com/new-york/penal/PEN0130.25_130.25.html

Second-degree rape
http://law.onecle.com/new-york/penal/PEN0130.30_130.30.html

First-degree rape (which is the only one that says forced "sexual intercourse," but no, putting it in the ass is not rape in New York)
http://law.onecle.com/new-york/penal/PEN0130.35_130.35.html

What the guy was probably charged with is this: First-degree criminal sexual act.
http://law.onecle.com/new-york/penal/PEN0130.50_130.50.html

BTW, first-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act are both class B felonies, and garner the same punishment of up to 25 years. The ONLY difference is the name. From a victim's perspective, I absolutely understand the desire for a change, though.

I think this move is a very good idea, but I think something a little more comprehensive needs to be done. I think New York should streamline the myriad of sex offenses — all 21 that are part of Penal Law Section 130. Streamline the statutory rape, ditch about a dozen different classifications in favor of a harder line of punishment, and make it easier for those who don't read this crap for a living to wrap their heads around it.