Some flamboyant and unusual moves are happening in the realm of criminal justice reforms right now.
However, it looks like both Democrats and Republicans have finally come together on a piece of legislation.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed two pieces of legislation that would make it easier for victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers. The legislation would waive the 2-year statute of limitations on this crime and allow people to sue their abusers for far beyond that time.
Fox News reports that the Pennsylvania House voted 161-40 on a State Constitutional amendment that would waive the statute of limitations when filing a lawsuit against abusers. This measure now goes to the State Senate for a vote. That governing body will decide how the state will view these types of crimes.
The House also passed a measure in a 134-67 vote that would make the change through legislation and would only need the approval of the Senate and the Governors signature.
House Speaker Mark Rozzi, a Democrat, and Representative Jim Gregory, a Republican, collaborated to work on this legislation. Gregory, speaking to the victims of childhood sexual abuse, stated, I want to tell you that I am sorry and that I pray that you will have what you need to heal. He added, It should not have taken this long.
Representative Tim Bonner also spoke about this matter and said:
Child molesters are like vampires: They keep coming back to their victims [time and time] again. So many children, so much evil, so many nightmares.
Fox News stated that a lot of the support came for this bill following a series of revelations in years past regarding the sexual abuse of children within the Roman Catholic Church. Those scandals put the issue of child sexual abuse in the spotlight like it had not been in the past. Given the religious makeup of Pennslyvania, it might be the case that these stories had a more significant impact on the legislature in Pennsylvania than they might have in other states.
Rozzi said the following about the proposals going to the Senate:
If the Senates not going to take it up, we might as well stop half [the business we do] in the House.
Some Republicans noted that the legislation might face legal challenges if passed. That said, many agreed that this legislation needs a push forward now.
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