--- description: Former chief prosecutor of the Air Force joins senators in fight to limit the role of commanders in sex assault cases title: Military Sex Assault Bill Gains Traction image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt466c0bb25f3539d7/69876c478e06013188458f63/459830844.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Military](/tag/military/) ## Military Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Bipartisan Push for Military to Improve Handling of Sex-Assault Cases by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2014 7:06 AM CUT  U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) (2nd R) speaks during a news conference on changing the military justice system, as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) (L), U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) (2ndL) and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) (R) listen December 2, 2014 in Washington, DC. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) (2nd R) speaks during a news conference on changing the military justice system, as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) (L), U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) (2ndL) and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) (R) listen December 2, 2014 in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson — Getty Images by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2014 7:06 AM CUT The former chief prosecutor of the Air Force has [thrown his weight](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/12/02/gillibrand-military-sex-assaults/19789269/ "undefined") behind Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s second push to change how the military handles sexual assault allegations. Retired Col. Don Christensen joined a bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, to support Gillibrand at a news conference Tuesday, reports _USA Today_. “The reality is, the commanders cannot solve this problem because too often they are the enablers,” said Christensen, who quit the Air Force in September after concluding that it was impossible to change the service from within. The bill would prevent commanders from playing a part in choosing which sexual assault cases will lead to prosecution. Introduced in the Senate earlier this year, the bill was five votes short of getting passed. Gillibrand says she hopes Christensen’s advocacy and the lack of significant improvements by the military over recent months will persuade senators to switch position. A new version of the bill could arrive at House and Senate floors this week. \[[_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/12/02/gillibrand-military-sex-assaults/19789269/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3615627/military-justice-improvement-act-sexual-assault/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3615627/military-justice-improvement-act-sexual-assault/"},"headline":"Bipartisan Push for Military to Improve Handling of Sex-Assault Cases","datePublished":"2014-12-03T07:06:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:31:36.585Z","description":"The bill needed only five more votes last time","url":"https://time.com/3615627/military-justice-improvement-act-sexual-assault/","keywords":["Military","Congress","Law"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt466c0bb25f3539d7/69876c478e06013188458f63/459830844.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Per Liljas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/per-liljas/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt466c0bb25f3539d7/69876c478e06013188458f63/459830844.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senators Hold Briefing To Propose An Independent Military Justice System","caption":"Senators Hold Briefing To Propose An Independent Military Justice System","creditText":"Mark Wilson — Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/military/","name":"Military"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3615627/military-justice-improvement-act-sexual-assault/","name":"Bipartisan Push for Military to Improve Handling of Sex-Assault Cases"}}]}] ```