RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina lawmakers are working to make it legal for a person to withdraw their consent at any time during a sexual act.
A state supreme court ruling issued in 1979 says continuing sex or a sexual act after being asked to stop is not a crime. That ruling makes North Carolina the only state in the country where a person cannot revoke consent.
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Senate Bill 563 would change that. The proposal, which was filed this month, would amend state law to say that any person who consents to a sexual act can withdraw consent at any time during the act. The bill would mean any person who continues with the sex will be considered committing "sexual act by force."
Democratic State Senator Jeff Jackson is one of the bill's sponsors. He said current state laws make it harder to prosecute sex assault cases.
"Law enforcement officers have declined to take out charges because of this law. Fixing this has been on my to-do list since joining the state senate," Jackson said.
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The bill passed a first reading in the senate and was referred to the committee on rules and operations. This is Jackson's fourth attempt at getting this type of legislation passed, but he's hopeful about this new effort.
Jackson said the bill has strong bipartisan support and several republican co-sponsors.