McCaskill campaign: Todd Akin questioned spousal rape law

(From the Claire McCaskill campaign)

Todd Akin’s controversial positions on rape aren’t a recent development. In 1991, when he was a state legislator, Todd Akin publicly voiced concerned over an anti-marital-rape law because of the possibility it could be misused in divorce proceedings. Though he eventually voted for the law, his public hesitation shows that for more than 20 years Todd Akin has has questioned the “legitimacy” of some rapes.

Akin Questioned Spousal Rape Law Because It Might Be Misused “In A Real Messy Divorce As a Tool and Legal Weapon to Beat Up on the Husband.” Reported by Talking Points Memo in August 2012, “Back in 1991, as a state legislator, Akin voted for an anti-marital-rape law, but only after questioning whether it might be misused “in a real messy divorce as a tool and a legal weapon to beat up on the husband,” according to a May 1 article that year in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via LexisNexis).” [Talking Points Memo, 8/10/12]

“The fact that Todd Akin would have even the slightest hesitation about prosecuting any type of rape should show Missouri’s women that Todd Akin is not on our side,” said Caitlin Legacki McCaskill for Missouri spokeswoman. “It is shocking and offensive that Todd Akin has repeatedly implied that survivors of any rape would embellish such a traumatic episode for their own benefit. Akin should be focused on protecting women, but instead he has a long history of questioning the credibility of sexual assault survivors.”