Equality in punishment for domestic abuse

In November, Sarah Bray raised hell with Franciscan St. Francis Health-Indianapolis.
Bray’s partner, Jennifer Clemmer, was admitted to the hospital for an overdose that Bray said was a suicide attempt.

When Bray tried to go see her partner, she claimed that the hospital officials would not let her into the room. Bray said they refused her access because of her sexual orientation.

You can imagine how excited this got local activist groups. GetEqual, a gay rights group, learned of Bray’s claims and released a statement saying the hospital was in violation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender hospital visitation rights. The hospital denied that it refused Bray access to her partner, and the two parties have gone back and forth, always shifting the blame to something else.

In the midst of this annoying feud, GetEqual spokesman David Stevens poked his nose where it didn’t belong.

He completely sided with Bray, saying, “I feel like no matter what’s happened, unless she’s an absolute danger to her partner, that she should have the right to be there by her side.”

Well, he sure is eating his words now.

On Feb. 20, Bray was sentenced to a misdemeanor battery charge. It turns out Clemmer didn’t try to kill herself. Bray tried to kill Clemmer.

After leaving their home because of a fight, Clemmer said she received threatening text messages from Bray demanding she return home. When Clemmer returned, Bray punched her in the face five times and slammed her face into the floor.  Maybe I’m just reading too far into things, but that makes Bray seem dangerous to me.

In January, Bray pleaded guilty. As part of her plea deal, the charges of criminal confinement and felony battery were dropped. Bray got off with 180 days of probation and a required trip to a psychologist.  This woman landed her significant other in the critical care unit, and she’s getting off with a slap on the wrist.

She lied to news media and used her sexual orientation as a tool to gain the attention of the public. She had people rallying behind her, painting the hospital out to be the bad guy when she was the one at fault.

What Bray did is deserving of serious jail time.

If she was a man, I have no doubt in my mind that she would be behind bars right now.
This idea of patriarchal chivalry, of taking it easy on women, is old and outdated. It’s time we mature as a society and accept that women can be bad people, too — and they should have to answer for that.

The law needs to apply proper punishment for domestic abuse, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation.

No one should get away with abusing another human being.

lnbanks@indiana.edu
@LexiaBanks