LETTER: Assault illegal no matter what

Editor,

OK, I’m a little confused by Brandy Trygstad’s letter (Letters, Feb. 11). She says that because the new marriage law protects only those couples who are bound in lawful union, that means that those women who aren’t married will have to deal with being abused.

Feel free to educate me on this, but according to my understanding of the law, anyone who abuses or assaults someone can be arrested whether or not the victim is the offender’s spouse.

True, assault is not the same as domestic violence, and assault may even carry a lesser penalty in many cases, but I think the letter writer went overboard when she said she would have to deal with whatever abuse she experiences from her boyfriend. That is simply untrue. If someone punches you in the face, you don’t even have to know them to have them arrested.

So don’t go blaming us who voted for Amendment 3 simply because those who assault their girlfriends might get sneaky lawyers that find loopholes in everything. That can happen outside of marriage just as well as it happens inside of marriage. If you’re unhappy that the penalty for domestic violence is stiffer than that of normal assault, petition government officials to change that. Don’t attack voters who went with their conscience.

Matt Andersen