To the editor:

My jaw dropped when I read on page 3A of a recent Journal-World that both Kansas senators had voted against an amendment that would have given a young woman legal recourse for a rape she sustained while working for a private government contractor in Iraq.

Evidently the fine print of her employment contract stated that company mediation was the only option she had in seeking justice regarding the attack. The Journal-World article said the Republican party line was that this amendment was just another Democratic tactic to get more work for American trial lawyers.

Do Sens. Brownback (our supposed next governor) and Roberts think that a huge number of rapes are occurring under the aegis of private contractors? Why else would passing this amendment cause them grave concern over tort reform? If an increase in the number of rapes is indeed the case, isn’t that all the more reason to pass an amendment that would protect the brave women who sign up to work in a war zone?

How anyone in his right mind could vote against legal rights for rape victims is beyond me. Not only do I say “shame on you” to our senators for their votes, I also say “shame on you” to the Journal-World for not putting this story above the fold on page 1A.