Great work! Sad, but true.

Excellent depiction of sad, sick thinking.

This "idea" is crap. Even prolife people who have a brain in their heads should be outraged: if congress redefines rape, then what keeps local prosecutors from refusing to prosecute "lesser" rape cases and judges from refusing to hear them? A (late) friend of mine had to endure a judge like that, who didn't hear her case until the end of the day so she could watch "the real rape cases" because she was drunk when her rape happened. This is beyond ugly!

I've got mixed emotions about this. I know I risk being labeled MCP or worse, but getting falling down drunk and screwed at a frat party and waking the next morning with buyer's remorse is hardly the same thing as being dragged into an alley, beaten and brutalized. I'm afraid in the long run, women who cry "Wolf" will punish their sisters more than one-night stand Lotharios.

I agree with Tom.

I was wondering when the neanderthals were going to show up.

Since when did offering a reasoned disagreement warrant being called a Neanderthal? Do you not see the difference between the two situations I described?

One of my girl friends got drunk one night during the 1970's and a fellow that she thought was a 'nice guy' before that, took her off where he raped her and invited along three friends. Yeah, Tom, that gave them an excuse. You truly are Neaderthal. If a woman is too drunk and defenseless to consent she should be left alone. Her condition is not a license for anyone else to rape.

Staggering! This is textbook worthy!
Thank you for your contribution to society...

Drunk or no...what of the loutish behavior of the perpetrators who take advantage of someone under the influence of alchohol or drugs?Anyone who violates another's rights to safety, health and happiness, is culpable.

Getting falling down drunk may be stupid, but stupidity is not an invitation for assault of any kind. As I understand it, the point of the discussion of this bill is that it is up to the courts to determine rape, not the federal government. And certainly not Chris Smith.

Brilliant cartoon!! So beautifully framed, though it's clear there are some who still don't get it. As a career woman who has been raped, I can attest to the fact that rape is not the same thing as having sex. Rape is about power and violence, and using that power over a helpless victim. Many rapists don't even get hard enough to do the act - and believe me, there is no physical pleasure for the victim. So get over the idea that anyone asks for this.

Terrific Cartoon, excellent graphically & smart observation.
I dig farleftside.

Tom Cordle--I used to think that. I remember having this exact discussion in college, when some underage "townie" girls got falling down drunk and screwed at a frat party. I thought the charge of rape was stupid. I stopped in my tracks when a fellow student said "Stupid people have rights too."

Wow. Just wow. It made me think. A lot. Being stupid doesn't mean it's not rape.

where art meets philosophy meets heartbreak.
good job, man

Tom, if you get falling down drunk at a party and some guy screws you, you're saying that's totally okay?

Rape is when a man forces a woman against her will, regardless of the situation, regardless of her condition, regardless of where she is, because his action violates her free will, and takes away her choice.

While some may be arguing that women who get themselves in places and chemical conditions that make them easy prey to be taken advantage of by rape, yet the decision to violate the free will and body of a woman is the choice the man makes, and that choice should be punished to prevent such behavior.

The greatest value of our society as we have evolved our social rules over the past ten thousand years has pretty much come down to free will and choice, as well as compromise and equal exchange that benefits all.

Tom, do you have a son... how would you advise him to treat a woman who was too drunk to walk home... sounds like you'd high five him for getting a bargain... you call rape "buyers remorse" - disgusting!

I think the sad reality is that for many many men, who consider themselves good people, they have been in a situation where there was opportunity for them to have sex with a woman's body and they took it, citing alcohol or proximity as a disclaimer. The cognitive dissonance of having to accept that they would be a rapist by that definition is too much to bear. As more than one man has told me, she was drunk, she was there, that's how sex happens in college. And for many college women, they use alcohol to un-inhibit themselves and cross boundaries they would not otherwise choose. If a woman is too drunk (drugged, tired, tied up and gagged, afraid) to say no, she is too drunk to say yes.
The reason we as a society don't likely pursue more sexual assault seriously is that far more men have done it or would consider doing it than we'll ever know. They would have to turn in their brothers, their friends, their sons, their fathers, themselves. For all the men who protest they would never force a woman, they would only want consent, I have seen a fair amount of them use alcohol and physical force to push that consent. More than once I have faced that moment with men who I have thought I would be safe around. Men who insisted they were good, decent, non violent, pro peace, women's equality, democratic men.

I wish I could rate this 100 times. Thank you!!!!

Without diminishing the unacceptability of rape, I always wonder how the dynamic in responsibility changes if both parties are under the influence. If a woman can't be held responsible for giving of withdrawing consent because she is drunk or high, why can a man who might be similarly tanked be held responsible for not seeking it? Where is the balance between being in a fit state of mind to grant consent and also to seek it? Apologies if it is an obvious question.