Survivors urge Texas lawmakers to close sexual assault loophole before bill dies
Content Warning: This article discusses sexual assault. Please return to the homepage if you are not comfortable with the topic. If you are in distress and need to speak with someone, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Sexual assault survivors and advocates said they would rally at the Texas Capitol Monday around 12:30 p.m. to voice support for a bill that could close a loop in the state’s sex crime laws, according to a press release.
House Bill 3073, named the “Summer Willis Act,” passed in the House on May 1 with only four representatives voting against it, according to legislative records. It would add language to the Texas’ sexual assault statute to include offenses while a victim is voluntarily intoxicated.
“Because of gaps in Texas law, Summer Willis was denied justice,” the release states. “This bill strengthens our laws and moves Texas closer to ensuring that every sexual assault case is met with the seriousness and justice it deserves.”
The rally will feature other sexual assault survivors and advocates, including Dr. Lavinia Masters and the family of Jeffery Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre, according to the release.
Where’s the bill now?
The bill is now before the Senate’s Criminal Justice Committee, which is led by Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton, and Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound. That committee has held three meetings since the bill was referred to it.
According to the release, Willis and other advocates are worried that the bill will die in committee. As of Monday morning, the bill is not listed on the committee’s Tuesday agenda.
Willis, a sexual assault survivor, is scheduled to speak at the rally to “urge Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to overrule Flores and schedule the vote.”
“Texas, I can’t begin to describe what survivors go through after we survive,” said Willis in the release. “And I don’t have words strong enough to describe what it feels like to know our state offers loopholes to rapists and locked doors to us.”
Willis was honored in the Senate Monday morning
While not an official deadline, time is running out on the 89th legislative session; the last day for the Senate to consider HB 3073 is May 28. The committee does not have any other meetings scheduled ahead of that deadline, according to legislative records.
