Lex Club Executive Committee Endorses Sex Crimes Reform Bill

At a March 25, 2025 meeting of the Lexington Democratic Club Executive Committee, a motion was approved endorsing SB S54 / A101, a state bill to protect the rights of sexual assault survivors.

If passed, the bill would allow sex crimes to be prosecuted where a victim is intoxicated of their own volition. This scenario is currently excluded from the definition of rape due to the limited definition of “mentally incapacitated” as category of persons unable to consent, which only includes persons who are given an intoxicant without their consent.

In 2023 and 2024 the bill passed in the Senate and failed to make it through the Assembly, where it has nearly 80 co-sponsors. It was first introduced in the 2019-2020 session.

Its failure to pass is perplexing. The bill is supported by numerous women’s rights and domestic violence advocacy organizations, including RAINN and others.

The Lex Club Executive Committee urges passage of SB S54 / A101 this session to close this gap in New York State’s sex crimes laws and ensure more victims have their case tried and more perpetrators are brought to justice.