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A bill that clarifies that having sex with an unconscious person is considered rape under Utah law flew through the Legislature without a single "no" vote or even any discussion since a lawmaker questioned early on whether sex with an unconscious spouse might be in a gray area.
HB74 won unanimous support from the Senate on Friday, 10 days after receiving a unanimous vote in the House, and 18 days after Rep. Brian Greene's comments drew national attention and scorn.
"If an individual has sex with their wife while she is unconscious ... a prosecutor could then charge that spouse with rape, theoretically," said Greene, R-Pleasant Grove. "That makes sense in a first-date scenario, but to me, not where people have a history of years of sexual activity."
Greene later apologized if anyone was offended by his comments and blamed the media for taking his statements out of context.
Existing law had language that defined sex with unconscious or incapacitated individual as sexual assault if the person had not consented. Because an unconscious or incapacitated person cannot consent, the bill simply struck that language.
The measure now goes to Gov. Gary Herbert for action.