House makes “coercive control” weasel phrase for DV

Posted on November 15, 2022 by admin

House Passes Goodman Bill to Add “Coercive Control” to Definition of Domestic Violence

Welcome to the cesspool of Washington jurisprudence and its purveyors.

February 9, 2022

OLYMPIA – Legislation to add “coercive control” to the definition of domestic violence passed the Washington State House of Representatives yesterday. House Bill 1901, sponsored by Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) passed with a bipartisan vote of 70-26. The bill further reforms Washington’s protection order system, which was thoroughly revamped last year with the passage of House Bill 1320, also sponsored by Goodman. HB 1320 made permanent the practices established during the pandemic to allow for survivors to file petitions online, electronic service of protection orders, and video or telephone hearings.

“Any major reform inevitably needs refinement and clarification, so this bill includes several practical changes to make the protection order process even more workable, but we are also responding to the concerns from survivors, judges, and prosecutors about inadequate protection from coercive control,” said Goodman. “I strongly believe that we should include coercive control in the law to give all survivors the tools and knowledge they need to protect themselves.”

Coercive control is an abuser’s pattern of behavior that causes a victim to suffer physical, emotional, or psychological harm and is used by the abuser to control the victim. Examples of coercive control include intimidation or threats of harm against the victim, children, family members, or pets; destroying or threatening to damage property; abusing technology through cyberstalking, surveillance, distributing intimate images and commandeering social media accounts; brandishing firearms to intimidate; financial exploitation; abusive litigation; and several other forms of harassment. Research shows that coercive control is a widespread form of domestic violence that too often goes unrecognized.

[Yeah, invisible even. They forgot to include felony theft of a peanut butter sandwich with a jelly prior. Holding your breath until you turn blue will now be subject to prosecution as a form of DV. After all, it may cause mom emotional stress or dad to smoke more. Although it appears largely intended to emasculate men via government fiat, women are some of the worst offenders of “coercive control” prohibitions as defined herein. It describes precisely the means (cyberstalking, abusive litigation, financial exploitation, perjury, theft of credit card data 24/7, cell phone tracking, false police reports, etc.) Kathryn Stoker and her husband, Hans, to steal Selena Smith’s 3 small children from ma foreign jurisdiction without proper standing, due process, or jurisdiction.]

“It’s time for our culture and laws to catch up with the research,” said Goodman. “Domestic abuse is not just physical, but also emotional and psychological. With this important change in the law, survivors will have greater protection from abusers whose pattern of coercive control can cause even more trauma than physical harm. It is well past time that our laws accounts for this completely unacceptable and dangerous behavior.”

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

[This kind of crap, like tax on water in grocery stores, NEVER shows up on a ballot because the voters have more common sense than that. This bill was yet another brick in the wall of oppression and government excess. It errs in being excessively vague and overly broad. When everything becomes DV, nothing is DV.]