Over the weekend, Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) announced on X (formerly Twitter) that she will introduce legislation this week increasing the Federal minimum sentence for child sexual abuse to a capital offense or life in prison, saying, "You cannot cure predators."
I am introducing a bill this Thursday that will raise the federal minimum for Child Rape and sexual abuse to the death penalty or life in prison.
You cannot cure predators.
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) April 6, 2024
Rep. Luna also announced a similar minimum sentence raising for rape of adults, calling it "absurd that rapists can get off after a few years of “good” behavior after destroying lives."
I am also introducing a bill this week regarding rape. It is absurd that rapists can get off after a few years of “good” behavior after destroying lives. I will also be asking to increase the federal minimum. https://t.co/YcyiumExfh
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) April 6, 2024
Last March, one of Rep. Luna's first bills sought to curb incidences of sexual assault within the Armed Forces by mandating monthly self-defense courses for members.
Named the Stop Our Sexual Assault in the Military (SOS) Act, Luna's bill shed light on the alarmingly high instances of unwanted sexual contact among servicemembers, especially women. Statistics noted that incidences of sexual assault had increased in Fiscal Year 2021 yet were reported less often.
"When I served in the military, I witnessed the lack of self-defense and combat training. This bipartisan piece of legislation would ensure that out of the already-required physical training days each month for active duty service members, one of those days would be designated to self-defense/combat training," Luna said in her press release.
However, the Department of Defense stated opposition to Luna's bill in July, claiming female servicemembers responded harshly to the inclusion of self-defense training for sexual assault prevention as "stigmatizing, victim blaming, and unequal by placing emphasis on women to prevent sexual assault."
Luna quickly dismissed the response as "absurd" and "highly disturbing."
"This is really one of the most absurd things I’ve seen, and as a veteran, it is highly disturbing that the DOD would shun plain common sense: our men and women in uniform should be equipped to defend themselves against attack, and opposing the use of self-defense and combat training does not set them up for success," said the Florida Congresswoman.
In May, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed CS/HB 1297 into law, which made child sexual battery and sexual assault of children under the age of 12 a potential capital offense in the State of Florida.
"We really believe that part of a just society is to have an appropriate punishment, so if you commit a crime that is really, really heinous, you should have the ultimate punishment," said Gov. DeSantis.
