Restraining orders are not available to any partner who was harassed, abused, beaten or threatened. In order to get one, you have to go to the police, have the guy (the abusers are usually guys) arrested and then get the prosecutor to help you, unless you were married. Most people aren’t willing to go through all that. Now Governor Paterson has agreed to expand the law to cover a wider range of relationships, including people who are dating.
A Brooklyn politician named Helene Weinstein has been pushing for a change in the law since 1988, but this is the first year that there was support from the state senate and the governor’s office. The new law will allow anyone in an “intimate relationship” to get a restraining order in civil court instead of going to criminal court. The relationship could be straight or gay and doesn’t have to include sex at all. The intimate relationship could even be created on the first date if that’s when the stalking starts.
With so many current relationships falling outside the traditional marriage structure, it makes sense that the law evolves to match the society it’s supposed to protect. Even though restraining orders can’t keep someone safe, it’s a step in the right direction and extending that to everyone who could be abused is another positive step. An expanded law can itself be abused by manipulative dates, but a lot of us have seen people at clubs abusing their partners. Maybe a few of them will be able to drink in peace once the law is past.
A Brooklyn politician named Helene Weinstein has been pushing for a change in the law since 1988, but this is the first year that there was support from the state senate and the governor’s office. The new law will allow anyone in an “intimate relationship” to get a restraining order in civil court instead of going to criminal court. The relationship could be straight or gay and doesn’t have to include sex at all. The intimate relationship could even be created on the first date if that’s when the stalking starts.
With so many current relationships falling outside the traditional marriage structure, it makes sense that the law evolves to match the society it’s supposed to protect. Even though restraining orders can’t keep someone safe, it’s a step in the right direction and extending that to everyone who could be abused is another positive step. An expanded law can itself be abused by manipulative dates, but a lot of us have seen people at clubs abusing their partners. Maybe a few of them will be able to drink in peace once the law is past.
Source: Danny Hakim: New York Times
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