The harrowing allegations of rape at a Cornell University fraternity have been rippling out in both New York state and national politics.

Democrats have tended to voice sympathy with the accuser, saying that they stand with her and other victims. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said there was “a culture of rape, sexual assault, and pedophilia” in elite institutions across the country. Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said Cornell “protected her abusers, letting them off with a slap on the wrist.”

Key takeaways

In the wake of the Cornell rape allegations, advocates for victims of rape and sexual assault are renewing a push for New York to close what they call the “voluntary intoxication loophole” in state law.

This proposed change would make it easier for prosecutors to argue that people can be too intoxicated to consent to sex, even if they are conscious and haven’t explicitly said no.

But this reform effort has met resistance from key parts of the progressive coalition who are skeptical of…