New Mexico lawmaker under fire for defining rape as 'drunken college sex'
Rep. Ken Martinez says his remarks have been taken out of context
A Democratic lawmaker is under fire for saying, “Rape is defined in many ways, and some of it is just drunken college sex.”
Rep. Ken Martinez, D-Grants, made the controversial statement during a committee debate last week over a bill that would remove parental rights from rapists — but he says his words have been misconstrued.
Martinez claims the quote that has been circulating leaves out what he said next: “without the ability to consent.”
Sheila Lewis, director of Santa Fe Safe, a group dedicated to ensuring the safety of survivors of sexual assault, says the “scandal” is actually a political ploy and that Martinez has always been dedicated to women’s rights.
“He defined a particular situation of rape and addressed it as a serious problem,” Lewis said in an interview with Yahoo News. “I’m outraged. He used the phrase ‘without the ability to consent.’ It is a very serious form of rape that my organization and Rep. Martinez have been addressing for a long time.”
No one commented on Martinez’s definition as House Bill 387, sponsored by Rep. Conrad James, R-Albuquerque, passed through the House Judiciary Committee unchallenged, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
Many local Republican politicians, including Rep. Kelly Fajardo, R-Belen, are calling on Martinez to apologize.
“It is simply inexcusable that Rep. Kenny Martinez dismissed a serious crime as nothing more than a night of ‘drunken college sex.’ His comments are belittling to anyone who has ever been a victim and survivor of sexual abuse, and I hope that he will apologize,” Fajardo said in a news release.
On Monday, Martinez held a press conference with two advocates of rape victims in which he refused to apologize and insisted that his comment was taken out of context.
Instead, he called upon Fajardo to apologize.
“It’s really unfortunate that Rod Adair and Kelly Fajardo are pulling this political stunt on something that’s so important,” Martinez said, according to the local paper. “To create a political stunt on something this important, I really think they owe an apology to every victim of rape in the state of New Mexico.”
It is unclear from a video of the proceedings whether he said, “without the ability to consent.” The video is embedded below and archived on state governor Susana Martinez’s website. (The contested comment begins at the 54:06-minute mark.)
Martinez was not immediately available for comment when Yahoo News called his office.
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