California Passes Law Requiring College Students To Actively Give Consent Before Intercourse

California state capitol via Shutterstock

This weekend, California became the first state in America to pass a law requiring college students to give consent before having sex. From The New York Times:

Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday signed into law a bill that will impose this new standard for consent at all colleges that receive state funding, including all public universities and many private institutions where students receive state grants.

The bill is aimed at reversing the terrifying epidemic of sexual assaults on college campuses across the U.S. Here’s the language of SB 967, from Jezebel:

Affirmative consent” means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that he or she has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.

Before you go, I don’t know, running to the hills screaming about pussy liberals ruining fucking for everyone, realize this: If you are uncomfortable with asking a woman you are about to have sex with if she is okay having sex with you, then maybe you aren’t ready to have sex.

But if you’re worried this asking will get her to reconsider and you won’t get laid, well, think about how terrible you are for having that thought.

We should all be doing this. Always. That’s not the limits of SB 967, either. The bill has other important aspects to it, which should help colleges better handle instances of possible sexual assault.

The new law will also offer other protections: universities will be required to offer on-campus victims’ advocates; victims who come forward to report a sexual assault may not be punished for under-age drinking; and all institutions will be required to teach incoming freshmen about sexual assault and consent during orientation.

Hey, good! Things being done about terrible problems. Maybe there’s hope after all.