California is the first state to require all colleges & universities that receive state aid to define sexual assault as any sexual act committed without affirmative permission. Some colleges have adopted that definition, but no other state has made it a requirement.

The Christian Science Monitor report is here.

The next step for California should be to amend it’s rape statutes to reflect the same requirement: that is, to eliminate the force and non-consent elements, as New Jersey has done.

The New Jersey Supreme Court, way back in 1992, provided the most simple & sensible argument for eliminating force and consent requirements found in most sexual assault statutes :

“The role of the factfinder is not to decide whether reasonable people may engage in acts of penetration without the permission of others. The Legislature answered that question when it enacted the reformed sexual assault statute: reasonable people do not engage in acts of penetration without permission, and it is unlawful to do so. In Re MTS, 609 A.2d 1266, 1279 (1992).

How can one disagree with the bold statement? (bold added).