Exclusive | Hochul urged to call emergency Albany session to tighten rape law over Cornell 7 scandal: This is a travesty

Pressure is building on Gov.Kathy Hochul to call the state legislature into emergency session to close a key legal loophole that favors accused rapists such as the “Cornell 7.’’The so-called “voluntary intoxication loophole” refers to how current New York law does not allegedly adequately protect rape victims who chose to drink or get high before they were attacked, even if they were too incapacitated to consent to sex.A bill to tighten the law has been circulating since 2018 but has not passed the Democratic-run state assembly.“If the governor were sincere in supporting victims, she could call the legislature back into session today,” fumed Gary Greenberg, CEO of ProtectNYKids Inc., to The Post.“This is a travesty that could’ve been prevented, and now with the public uproar and an election coming up in five weeks, New York state politicians are scrambling like they support victims.

Shameful.”The women’s rights group ULTRAVIOLETACTION is circulating a petition destined for Hochul and state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) demanding that the gov call lawmakers back into session now to fix the rape law.“Let us be clear: there is no valid consent when someone is intoxicated,’’ the petition says.“New York state law, as it is today, in essence, lays the blame and shame on survivors and lets perpetrators off the hook, which is completely unacceptable.“We count on you, Governor Hochul and Speaker Heastie, to correct this injustice and call for an extraordinary session of the New York State Assembly to pass Assembly Bill A101, which would close the voluntary intoxication exclusion and bring Jane Doe closer to the justice she deserves.”The pressure campaign comes amid fury surrounding seven male Cornell University fraternity brothers accused in a recent civil case alleging the 2024 gang-rape of a drugged-up female student, only referred to in court papers as Jane Doe.The young men have not been criminally charged thanks to what the w...