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Senators pass bill to end ‘marital exemption’ in criminal sexual offenses

Senators have passed a bill intended to eliminate the “marital exemption” in criminal sexual offenses. Senate Bill 190 would remove a provision in criminal code where an allegation of inappropriate sexual contact applies only when the victim is not married to the aggressor. As West Virginia law has stood, said Sen. Ryan Weld, “If you are married to somebody and you touch them in a private area as a result of forcible compulsion you cannot be convicted of a crime.” “Now is the time to correct an injustice,” said Weld, R-Brooke. Senators passed the bill 22-9, and ...

Senate passes bill requiring 8th graders to watch fetal development video, ‘Meet Baby Olivia’

West Virginia senators voted to require eighth grade viewings of a specific video showing insemination and fetal development by a particular national group involved in abortion politics. Senate Bill 468 would require public school viewings of “Meet Baby Olivia,” by Live Action, a nonprofit organization that has been active in national anti-abortion campaigns. The video begins with an image of a fetus called Olivia and then goes on to show sperm fertilizing an egg. “This is the moment that life begins.” After that, the video shows weeks of development. The bill does not ...

Bill aimed at driving in the left lane gets second chance

Delegates circled back for a second chance at a bill discouraging drivers from camping out in the left lane. The House of Delegates narrowly voted down a bill two weeks ago that would have made left-lane driving — with several exceptions — a primary offense. Tuesday, delegates voted in favor of a bill that would establish a secondary offense. “This is now a secondary offense,” said Delegate Steve Westfall, R-Jackson, who has sponsored similar bills year after year. “There was some objection that it be a primary offense.” Delegates on Feb. 15 voted down a similar ...

‘Women’s Bill of Rights’ would define male, female

Senators advanced legislation called the “Women’s Bill of Rights” that would codify definitions of man and woman, and they advanced another bill called “The Restoring Sanity Act” that would, among many policies, allow educators to ignore students’ pronoun preferences. The Women’s Bill of Rights, Senate Bill 601, advanced Monday afternoon from the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill mostly works by defining “female” and “male,” “men” and “women” and “girls” and “boys” and saying those terms should be used wherever state law applies. A ...

Vax bill passes to State Senate

After debate of almost two hours, delegates voted for several exemptions to vaccine requirements in West Virginia schools. House Bill 5105 first removed vaccine requirements for students attending virtual public schools, then was expanded to allow private schools to adopt their own policies and then was opened up to parents citing religious reasons to opt out of vaccination requirements at any school in the state. “We have rights. We have the Constitution,” said Delegate Laura Kimble, R-Harrison, the lead sponsor of what she called “a little bill with a little change to a ...