Ruth Bader Ginsberg
IS A SC JUDGE AND THIS IS SOME THINGS SHE WANTS
The age of consent for sexual acts must be lowered to 12
years old.
"Eliminate the phrase 'carnal knowledge of any female, not
his wife, who has not attained the age of 16 years' and
substitute a federal, sex-neutral definition of the offense. . .
A person is guilty of an offense if he engages in a sexual act
with another person, . . . [and] the other person is, in fact,
less than 12 years old." (p. 102)
2
- The Mann Act must be repealed; women should not be protected
from "bad" men.
"The Mann Act . . . prohibits the transportation of women
and girls for prostitution, debauchery, or any other immoral
purpose. The act poses the invasion of privacy issue in an acute
form. The Mann Act also is offensive because of the image of
women it perpetuates. . . . It was meant to protect from xthe
villainous interstate and international traffic in women and
girls,' *those women and girls who, if given a fair chance,
would, in all human probability, have been good wives and mothers
and useful citizens. . . . The act was meant to protect weak
-women from bad men.
The traditional family concept of husband as breadwinner and
wife as homemaker must be eliminated.
"Congress and the President should direct their attention to
the concept that pervades the Code: that the adult world is (and
should be) divided into two classes — independent men, whose
primary responsibility is to win bread for a family, and
dependent women, whose primary responsibility is to care for
children and household. This concept must be eliminated from the
code if it is to reflect the equality principle." (p. 206)
"It is a prime recommendation of this report that all
legislation based on the breadwinning, husband-dependent,
homemaking-wife pattern be recast using precise functional
description in lieu of gross gender classification." (p. 212)
"A scheme built upon the breadwinning husband [and]
dependent homemaking wife concept inevitably treats the woman's
efforts or aspirations in the economic sector as less important
than the man's." (p. 209)
The right to determine the family residence must be taken
awav from the husband.
"Title 43 provisions on homestead rights of married couples
are premised on the assumption that a husband is authorized to
determine the family's residence. This xhusbana s prerogative'
is obsolete." (p. 214)