It is my hope that an ammendment is offered, to adjust the date to a plaintiff's 30th birthday, rather than 45. It will still help the victims get relief, but would not encourage the Gloria Alreds of the world to set up "shake down" operations in the state. Child molestation is a serious harm to a child's mental health. It is associated with Borderline Personality Disorder and a common experience of people cunfused about their sexual orientation. PTSD is a common diagnosis stemming from repeat molestation.
Representatives Kevin McDugle and Carol Bush along with Sen. David Holt, have two bills nearing a floor vote, this week.(HB1468, HB1470) They are a lawyer's dream. The two freshmen legislators teamed up to provide a proposed statute giving lawyers and plaintiffs up to 40+ years to file a lawsuit claiming, among other things, certain emotional damages suffered in childhood. The intention was to give children who suffer sexual abuse a longer period of time to file claims, both criminal complaints and civil damages. One of the longest spans is for claims including indecent proposals. Two freshmen legislators are seeking to raise that span to perhaps 40 years. I have serious concerns for what this could do to exploit elderly defendants and where facts can no longer be certified, leading to a miscarriage of justice. This can be devastating for organizations trying to recruit volunteer leaders. The Boy Scouts already have the strictest standards and have a desperate time getting dads to volunteer. I doubt that I would want to subject myself to this 40-year time bomb. Sadly, though, this bill would be a retroactive open season on the elderly who have no way of assembling a defense to some thrapist-assisted "memory" from countless mentally unstable people who may just be looking for a cash-cow and waiting until an older adult has stockpiled a full retirement nest egg. |