Hirono Joins Bipartisan Group of Colleagues to Call for Fair Military Justice System for Sexual Assault Survivors

Press Release

Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined today with sexual assault survivor advocates and a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues to build support for legislation that would reform the military justice system to make it fairer to survivors of sexual assault. The Military Justice Improvement Act would remove the chain of command's sole decision-making power over whether cases move forward to trial.

"The crime of sexual assault in the military is horrific, and bias and conflict of interest should have absolutely no part in the decision to prosecute," Hirono spoke at today's press conference. "There's no place in the military, which prides itself on good order and discipline, to allow this kind of crime to continue, and we are affecting the young men and women who join our forces simply to serve. For them to be exposed to this kind of behavior, you can only imagine what it does to their desire to serve. It just kills them. This is why I know that what we're doing, this kind of change, is going to help millions of young people who are entering our service over the years."

Hirono also shared her story of meeting a female military leader who witnessed firsthand the inadequacies of the current military justice system. Watch Hirono's remarks from the press conference: http://youtu.be/uLkCXTtQYj4.

Hirono joined a diverse coalition led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and including Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX). Additional testimony included the personal experiences of Ariana Klay and Ben Klay, former Marines who have shared their tragic story in the Invisible War and ESPN E:60.

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