Choking and DV law

Read this disturbing op-ed in today's NYT, about New York's "choking loophole," which makes it so that "choking by compressing someone’s neck is not considered assault unless there is evidence that the victim suffered physical injury."

"And yet choking very often leaves few or no visible signs," reads the op-ed, which was written by two women's-rights advocates. "In a study of 100 cases of strangulation, the San Diego District Attorney’s office found that in 62 of them, police officers reported no visible injuries, and in 22 others, signs like redness or scratch marks on the neck were too minor to photograph. The study also found that when a victim’s injuries were not visible or consisted of faint redness, the police treated the attacks as trivial.

Apparently Maine is another state without choking/strangulation-specific laws on the books, but that may change in an upcoming legislative session. More coming on that soon.