Right wing 'family' group endorses Wisconsin 'rape so easy' Republican

Wisconsin state Rep. Roger Rivard, who became notorious for his assertion that "some girls rape so easy" has snagged the endorsement of the anti-LGBT, anti-choice and anti-same sex marriage organization Wisconsin Family Action (WFA).  According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, WFA director Julaine Appling endorsed Rivard "because of his stance on issues."

“We are very pleased to endorse candidates who recognize the importance of America’s and Wisconsin’s best natural resource -- her traditional families -- and who realize that our state’s and our country’s well-being is closely tied to the strength of this resource," wrote Appling in a statement.  "These are candidates who will, in both policy and practice, work to help ensure that our families become or remain independent of government."

Rivard told the Chetek Alert newspaper in December of 2011 that as part of his coming-of-age advice from his father, he was warned that some "girls" may consent to sex, then change their minds and call it rape.

"He also told me one thing, 'If you do (have premarital sex), just remember, consensual sex can turn into rape in an awful hurry,'" Rivard told the Alert. "Because all of a sudden a young lady gets pregnant and the parents are madder than a wet hen and she's not going to say, 'Oh, yeah, I was part of the program.' All that she has to say or the parents have to say is it was rape because she's underage. And he just said, 'Remember, Roger, if you go down that road, some girls,' he said, 'they rape so easy.'"

Rivard was referring to a case in which a 14-year-old girl alleged she was sexually assaulted by a 17-year-old boy on the grounds of a Wisconsin High School.  The 17-year-old claimed that the sex was consensual, but according to District Attorney Angela Beranek, who prosecuted the case, this was clearly not the situation.

“The public needs to know the case Rep. Rivard was speaking about was not a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ situation,” Beranek said in a statement. “This was a sex act perpetrated by force against the will of the victim. There was no consent.”

Wisconsin's Gov. Scott Walker (R), vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) dropped their endorsements of Rivard when his comments came to light.  The Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, the primary operation tasked with re-electing Assembly Republicans, has also withdrawn its support of Rivard.

The Journal-Sentinelreported that WFA's Appling declined to comment on Rivard's rape remarks.