The House State Affairs Committee is onto HB5, Rep. Tarr's bill on updating and reforming the state's sexual assault laws.

The first amendment by Eastman would make marriage as a defense in cases of rape by fraud.

Eastman says, "We're not talking about violence."

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Watch here: http://w3.akleg.gov/includes/_player.php?live=HSTA-20210427-1530&time=1619564281

Rep. Tarr says she opposes the amendment, basically saying it's appropriate to include mainly because there's no real scenarios where rape by fraud would be happening between a married couple.

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Chair Kreiss-Tomkins asks Eastman if there's a real scenario

Eastman says how about trying to catch a partner cheating "in the act they switch places and pretend to be the person they think their spouse is having the affair with. These kind of situations have happened."

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Then he gives the plot synopsis of "All's Well That Ends Well."

Deputy AG Skidmore basically says Eastman's suggested scenario doesn't make any sense and he's never seen it happen.

"Why would you be interested in passing a law that'd protects an individual who can only have sex with another individual by tricking them?"

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Claman says he doesn't feel at all comfortable with expanding the marriage defense against rape.

Skidmore notes there's an existing marriage defense in some very limited scenarios that try to recognize the complexity of alzheimer's cases. He notes it's an affirmative defense.

Vance asks how Eastman's amendment might affect the alzheimer's cases. Skidmore says it wouldn't. They're very different.

This is about fraud.

Skidmore then goes on about Mission Impossible disguises. Says it's really a policy discussion if you want to protect someone who, by fraud, has sex with a spouse who wouldn't have sex with them otherwise.

Eastman says it might have been consensual on Tuesday so why should it be criminal if you conceal your identity on Wednesday.

Skidmore: "I can try to make myself look like Brad Pitt. I'm fairly certain there's no chance in hell that I'll ever look like Brad Pitt. I don't think my wife would ever be fooled that I'm Brad Pitt."

He says it'd be a question if she REALLY believed he was Brad Pitt.

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Eastman: Darkness can be concealment.

Skidmore says the basic issue is consent and about fraudulently gaining consent. He says the case where this would apply is "I was raped by my spouse because I thought I was having sex with another person."

He asks: "The question is do you really want to protect those people?"

Eastman, wrapping up: "It's really not criminal because it's taking place in a marriage. ... I do not think we should be making that criminal conduct."

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This amendment, proposing marriage as a defense for cases of rape by fraud, fails on a YEASTMAN.

YEAS: Eastman
NAYS: Tarr, Story, Claman, Vance, Kaufman, JKT

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