The Minnesota Senate on Monday unanimously passed a bill authored by Sen. Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake) that would eliminate what is commonly known the “marital rape exception,” which shields participants in voluntary relationships from prosecution for certain criminal sexual conduct.

“Minnesotans will be surprised, as I was, to learn that a woman raped by her husband is treated differently than any other rape case,” said Sen. Benson. “Today we made it clear that if a prosecutor can bring charges of rape, the accused should not be set free simply because the couple is married.”

Minnesota is one of only about a dozen states that have a similar law on the books.