Dear Governor Hochul and Speaker Heastie, 

We urge you to call a special session to vote on A.101, a bill to close the voluntary intoxication loophole. 

Jane Doe’s Cornell sexual assault case has brought renewed attention to New York’s voluntary intoxication loophole, yet its impact reaches far beyond campus sexual assault to all survivors of sexual violence.

In sex trafficking, a crime that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown women and girls, drugs and alcohol can be powerful tools of coercion and control. Traffickers often use them to create or deepen a dependency, or increase a person’s vulnerability. Survivors may also use substances to cope with trauma and exploitation. Intoxication should never be treated as permission for sexual violence.

Yet New York’s voluntary intoxication loophole can create a barrier to accountability when a person becomes incapacitated after voluntarily consuming drugs or alcohol.

That distinction places the focus in the wrong place.

The question should not be how a person became incapacitated. The focus should be on the conduct of the person who sexually exploited someone who was unable to consent.

A survivor should not lose the protection of the law because of substance use. And a perpetrator should not escape accountability because of the circumstances that made another person vulnerable.

New York can do better. Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie, it's time to end the voluntary intoxication loophole and ensure that our laws recognize the dignity, autonomy, and humanity of every survivor. 

Governor Hochul, we are thrilled that you appointed Attorney General Leticia James as special prosecutor for Jane Doe’s Cornell sexual assault case. Now, we are asking you to call a special session of the state legislature and fix New York's archaic rape law. 

Let's pass A.101 to give all Jane Does access to justice. Call a special session to close the voluntary intoxication loophole TODAY. 

Sincerely,