Kathleen Parker wonders “has something happened to the groundwater in Oklahoma?” (“Making rape out of wine: Oklahoma uncorks a bad law,” Commentary, March 17). Parker is upset that Oklahoma is considering joining the 20th Century by passing a sexual assault law that forbids having sex with someone who is incapable of giving consent due to intoxication. I can hardly believe that Parker is in favor of letting rapists go free if they choose unconscious women as their victims, but that’s what her column argues.
Perhaps Parker should learn more about sexual assault laws before blindly condemning them. Considering that her opening example–a woman at a romantic dinner who relaxes with a little wine and then consents to sex but regrets it later–is quite plainly not a case of a woman “incapable of giving consent,” perhaps Parker should check her own IQ before condemning the intelligence of Oklahoma residents.
