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Mon 22 Sep, 2008 11:15 am
a length of rope and a roll of duct tape
to be fair, her city was not and is not the only city to do so, but charging victims for rape kits is a pretty scummy thing to do
@djjd62,
No, they'd rather pay the court system millions of dollars.
@cicerone imposter,
Charge the rapist for the kit and procedure.
@shewolfnm,
Good idea, but it'll never work.
@djjd62,
After "getting to know" Sarah Palin in these few weeks, it does not surprise me she would want to charge the victims for this. Also, it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't consult any other states model for the kit. She's a pioneering woman-- they pick themselves up and move right along.
@Cliff Hanger,
Until she or her daughter becomes the victim.
from us news and world report
Sarah Palin and the Rape Kit Question
September 10, 2008 02:22 PM ET | Michelle Andrews | Permanent Link
The blogosphere is reporting that when she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, in the late 1990s, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's municipal police department charged rape victims for the "rape kit" used to collect the forensic evidence necessary to convict their attackers. According to reports, this changed in 2000 when then Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles signed a bill protecting rape victims from being charged. As I wrote recently, however, the situation described in Wasilla is not unique. In all too many instances, women are still being stuck with the bill for rape kits. This despite the fact that in order to qualify for federal grants under the Violence Against Women Act, states are supposed to pick up the entire tab.
If on her watch Sarah Palin allowed women to be charged for rape kits, she has some serious explaining to do. But while she's undoubtedly the most visible offender, if the story is true, she's unfortunately not the only one to have permitted this reprehensible practice.
@shewolfnm,
Most rapists are never charged, far less convicted.
@djjd62,
Erm...has anyone checked reliable sources to see if the blogosphere is correct?
@dlowan,
it's a story on cnn.com as well
as i said her city wasn't the only one in the us to do this
@djjd62,
Fascinating.
Do murdered people in the US have to pay for the autopsy?
Do burgled people have to pay for the police to come out and investigate?
@dlowan,
We're headed in that direction with Palin in "high places" of our government.
@dlowan,
Quote:Do murdered people in the US have to pay for the autopsy?
Only if they have enough money in their wallets/purses at the time of autopsy. The coroners are also entitled to anything left over for the office coffee fund.
@JTT,
I won't believe she did that until I raed it from a reputable news source! Oh wait! Here's one from CNN. Never mind.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/21/palin.rape.exams/?iref=hpmostpop
@NickFun,
In case people are too lazy to click on your link.
Quote:
From Jessica Yellin
CNN
Decrease font Decrease font
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's hometown required women to pay for their own rape examinations while she was mayor, a practice her police chief fought to keep as late as 2000.
A former Alaskan lawmaker says it seems unlikely that Gov. Sarah Palin was unaware of Wasilla's policy.
A former Alaskan lawmaker says it seems unlikely that Gov. Sarah Palin was unaware of Wasilla's policy.
Former state Rep. Eric Croft, a Democrat, sponsored a state law requiring cities to provide the examinations free of charge to victims. He said the only ongoing resistance he met was from Wasilla, where Palin was mayor from 1996 to 2002.
"It was one of those things everyone could agree on except Wasilla," Croft told CNN. "We couldn't convince the chief of police to stop charging them."
Alaska's Legislature in 2000 banned the practice of charging women for rape exam kits -- which experts said could cost up to $1,000.
Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, often talks about her experience running Wasilla, population approximately 7,000, and that has prompted close scrutiny of her record there. Wasilla's practice of charging victims for their rape exams while she was mayor has gotten wide circulation on the Internet and in the mainstream media. Video Watch CNN's Jessica Yellin check the facts in Wasilla ยป
Some supporters of Palin say they believe she had no knowledge of the practice. But critics call it "outrageous" and question Palin's commitment to helping women who are the victims of violence.
For years, Alaska has had the worst record of any state in rape and in murder of women by men. The rape rate in Alaska is 2.5 times the national average.
Quote:
For years, Alaska has had the worst record of any state in rape and in murder of women by men. The rape rate in Alaska is 2.5 times the national average.
It was probably a whole lot lower in Wasilla during her tenure as mayor. See, there's another good thing that she can put on her resume. She knows how to lower the crime rate, or at least the crime statistics.
Sarah will clear this up in a couple of months after she's been thoroughly indoctrinated, I mean briefed by McCain aides.
Victims pay for rape forensic kits. No abortion for rape or incest. And she fired a guy for going to Washington and seeking funding for rape and physical abuse prevention and treatment. Three strikes she's out.
@JTT,
The "briefing" has already taken place.
@cicerone imposter,
If the victim doesn't pay for the kit then there was no rape and the crime rate drops dramatically! See?
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