Yay CGA

I do so like having a non-republican dominated state legislature (it's called the CGA here - Connecticut General Assembly).

My sense is that state level democrats are not quite the same as federal. Although you certainly can have many republicans in sheep's clothing at the state level, there isn't as much drive for them in a state which wants to believe it's not a hillbilly-loving, bible thumping, jezzebel stoning, proudly and openly omniphobic state.

One pro from the last presidential election - the blue/red state fallacy seems to have helped to nudge some of the supposed "blue states" away from intimations of kooky-con attitudes. While the state I live in still sucks (oh yes it does, this is not a love letter to CT, 'the state of denial'), the non-kooky-con CGA at least has been entertaining some nice bills lately.

For example, there's one which would extend the statute of limitations on rape. Currently rape is seen as less serious than "class A felonies" and "capital felonies".

CT's Class A felonies (c. 2005):

• Murder other than a capital felony or arson murder
• Felony murder
• Sexual assault in first degree of certain younger victims
• Aggravated sexual assault of person under age 16
• Kidnapping in first degree
• Kidnapping in first degree with a firearm
• Arson in the first degree
• Employing a minor in an obscene performance
• Assault on pregnant women resulting in termination of the pregnancy

The above crimes have no statute of limitations, while most sexual assault cases do (i.e. first degree sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, and spousal/cohabitating partner sexual assault are currently considered Class B felonies in CT). According to the Hartford Courant, The proposed bill would extend [the Class A felony] list to include first-degree sexual assault, aggravated first-degree sexual assault, sexual assault in a spousal or cohabitating relationship, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree sexual assault, and third-degree sexual assault with a firearm.