Minnesota Senate passes bill to repeal ‘marital rape exception'
(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Senate voted unanimously to pass a bill that would eliminate the "marital rape exception," which protects participants in voluntary relationships from prosecution for certain criminal sexual conduct.
The Benson bill was authored by Senator Michelle Benson (R - Ham Lake).
“Minnesotans will be surprised, as I was, to learn that a woman raped by her husband is treated differently than any other rape case,” Sen. Benson said. “Today we made it clear that if a prosecutor can bring charges of rape, the accused should not be set free simply because the couple is married. “
According to Senate officials, Minnesota is one of only about a dozen states with similar laws on the books.