I. Abstinence Teaching Doesn't Work
In 2012, The Tennessee legislature passed a bill requiring everyone teaching sex education to teach abstinence as the only legitimate option and barring any discussion that could be perceived as encouragement of "gateway sexual activity." [1]
A 2011 study by the University of Georgia researchers found that states that stressed abstinence had a roughly 25 percent higher rate of teen pregnancy than states that didn't. A University of Washington study found that teens taught comprehensive sex education were 50 percent less likely to get pregnant than teens who had abstinence-only education. A study in the journal Pediatrics, published in 2009, showed that young people who took virginity pledges -- a common practice in abstinence-only programs -- were less likely to use protection when the time came. Half of all states now embrace the abstinence approach. [2]
In 2015, Tennessee enacted a law that requires sex education teachers to "inform students... concerning the process of adoption and its benefits."
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reported that 41 percent of 18- and 19-year olds say they know little or nothing about condoms, and 75 percent say they know little or nothing about the Pill.
II. The Unanticipated Problem of HB2
North Carolina's HB2 law requires people to use the restrooms and locker rooms of the sex shown on their birth certificates in public schools, colleges and universities, and in government buildings; also, the law bars municipalities from passing L.G.B.T.-friendly ordinances. The simple fact is that the threats to women's safety and privacy are posed by men, not trans women, "so why should trans women suffer for these men's sins?" "Ironically, the bathroom bill 'solves' an imaginary problem by creating a more realistic one, because it will force trans men to use the ladies' room!" [3]
III. Eyewitness Testimony Is Very Unreliable
In cases where an eyewitness account is the only evidence tying a person to a crime, the chance of a wrongful conviction goes up significantly. A paper published by the American Bar Association (ABA) reports that those involved in witnessing violent high-stress crimes -- especially when a weapon is used - suffer from impaired recall because their focus is diverted to the weapon, not to the face of the person holding it.
Aileen P. Clare, a Columbia, South Carolina attorney who has studied witness misidentifications, says: "Witnesses select the wrong suspect from a photo lineup roughly a quarter of the time." "When the suspect is left out of the lineup, witnesses select an innocent person more than a third of the time -- even when told the suspect may not appear in the lineup." Misidentification plays a role in more than 70 percent of convictions that are overturned by DNA. [4]
ADDENDUMS:
*A survey has found that 82 percent of Yemen's population between the ages of 18 and 24 consider the U.S. to be an enemy. Furthermore, regional experts contend that the coalition focus on targeting Houthi rebels has allowed affiliates of ISIS and Al Qaeda in Yemen to significantly expand their territories.
*The criminal justice reform legislation before Congress could be derailed by "mens rea," a legal phrase used to describe state of mind. Basically, the fight boils down to whether prosecutors should be forced to prove that someone intended to break the law, specifically when it comes to white-collar corporate crimes. The House Judiciary Committee has already moved a bill that says that when federal criminal law fails to provide a clear standard of interest, prosecutors would have to prove defendants "knew,"or had reason to believe the conduct was unlawful.
Although the Koch brothers have been credited with supporting criminal justice reform legislation, it may be the case that they are working behind the scenes to use "mens rea" to make it more difficult to prosecute corporate executives for wrongdoing.
Footnotes
[1] Becca Andrews, "Sex Negative," The Nation, April 4, 2016.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Katha Pollitt, "Discomfort Stations," The Nation, May 9/16, 2016.
[4] Diane Dimond, "Eyewitness accounts not as accurate as you think," The Albuquerque Journal, February 13, 2016.
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