During a national town hall meeting on guns in January, President Obama was confronted by a survivor of rape for his stance on gun control. Kimberley Corban, now a mother of two, argued that the gun restrictions proposed by the Obama administration would prevent families from being able to protect themselves. She contended that it is her “basic responsibility as a parent” and as a survivor to carry a gun so that she and her children would not be victimized again.
This is not the first time that a survivor has come forward in favor of the gun lobby. In 2007 a student from the University of Nevada claimed that “had she been carrying her licensed gun, she would have averted the attack” that happened to her on campus. Unfortunately, we know that this is probably not the case. Many survivors find that their sense of safety is shaken after being assaulted, and it is understandable why an ethos of armed protection could be appealing for someone seeking safety after trauma. However, we believe that survivors deserve to know about all of the ways that their safety may be further compromised by this approach so they can base their decisions on what is known to be true, rather than on inflammatory rhetoric designed increase their anxiety and boost gun sales.
I want to start an honest conversation about drinking and sex. I don’t want to say that drunken sex is always wrong and, most importantly, I do not want to victim blame. There is absolutely no question that affirmative consent should always be clear, constant, and coherent. If someone is intoxicated, they cannot give legal consent to a number of things, not just sex. After all, even in Vegas, you have to be sober to get married. Entering into any contractual agreement while incapacitated is usually voidable in the eyes of the law. This is because drinking is proven to decrease cognitive ability and awareness of risk. If you proposition someone while they are drunk, you are entering into dangerous territory, because this person may not be capable of assessing the situation.
