My Turn: On sexual assault, Ayotte’s measure ineffective
Concord resident Jeanne Cusson takes on Senator Kelly Ayotte’s position on military sexual assault reform:
Since she is given top billing in the article, Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s co-sponsoring a bill on sexual assault in the military is clearly seen as the greatest accomplishment of our representatives in this legislative session. I respectfully disagree.
Ayotte worked to block a bill that would have finally removed prosecution for sexual assault from the military chain of command. The “Military Justice Improvement Act” was sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Fifty-five senators, including New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, voted to move this bill forward. Forty-five senators, including Ayotte, voted against it. A majority vote, however, does not work in the U.S. Senate, since 60 votes are needed to avoid a filibuster.
The Senate therefore passed the McCaskill-Ayotte-Fisher bill, since it had to be seen doing something about the appalling number of sexual assault incidents in the military.
