I’ve written about Title IX repeatedly, about how it discriminates against men and hurts all students.   Too often, colleges side with the “victim” because sexual assault is taken so seriously — as it should be. But the very real problem of “crying wolf” has done a real disservice to other female, and male, victims.

One branch of the NAACP in Missouri is saying “no more.” Recently, the St. Louis County NAACP announced that it would back a bill presented by Republican Rep. Dean Dohrman that would alter how colleges and universities handle sexual assault complaints.

STL Today has the details:

St. Louis County NAACP President John Gaskin III in a statement praised a House bill that supporters say is aimed at making procedures for handling Title IX complaints more fair for the accused. Title IX is a federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education, including sexual harassment and rape.

“The denial of due process at Missouri’s colleges disproportionately impacts African American men,” Gaskin said, “And that’s why we call for immediate due process reforms.”

Universities and victims-rights advocates have criticized the legislation, saying it could dissuade victims from coming forward.

The bill would:

  1.  guarantee those involved in complaints the right to an attorney at their own expense and the right to cross-examine witnesses

  2. require colleges “refrain from using the term ‘survivor’ or any other term that presumes guilt” before a verdict is rendered

Sounds reasonable, right?  Kudos to the St. Louis County NAACP for thinking clearly on this issue and having the guts to stand up for what is right.

Hat Tip: STL Today

Image Credit: Washington Area Spark on Flickr

About The Author

Mark was a co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, and served as the national coordinator. He left the organization to work more broadly on expanding the self-governance movement beyond the partisan divide. Mark appears regularly on television in outlets as diverse as MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox Business and the BBC. He’s highly sought after for the tea party perspective from print and electronic media outlets, from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, L.A. Times, Washington Examiner, Politico and the The Hill. Mark blogs at MarkMeckler.com, and his opinion editorials regularly run in many of the leading political newspapers both on and offline. Mark has a BA in English from San Diego State University and graduated with honors from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1988. He practiced real estate and business law for almost a decade. For the last eleven years of his legal career he specialized in Internet advertising law. When not fighting for the future of our nation, Mark is an avid horseman, and lives in rural northern California with his wife Patty and two children.

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