California adopts 'yes means yes' law on sexual consent


California on Sunday became the first state in the nation with a law defining sexual consent — when "yes means yes." Under the legislation, which Gov. Jerry Brown announced he had signed into law, consent is defined as "an affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity," and it cannot be granted by somebody who is drunk, drugged, unconscious, or asleep. The law also requires colleges to take certain steps to investigate sexual assault reports on campus. Read more at The Associated Press.
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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