By Kirk Kovach

To read most of the stories coming out of Raleigh, let alone Washington, D.C., you would think that Republicans and Democrats never agree on anything.

You would be mostly correct, especially on some of the more polarizing and divisive issues that we face as a state and nation. One reason for this is a simple fact of politics, or at least its coverage — division attracts more eyeballs than unity.

Would you not be more likely to watch a fight on the street than two people having a reasonable discussion?

But division and strife are not all that exist in our political conversation. One recent proposal that has received some press coverage, but surely not enough, is the Survivor Act.

In North Carolina, more than 10,000 untested rape kits are sitting in storage. Irrespective of why or how so many have been left to languish, now is the time to act. Both Democrats and Republicans are doing so. The Survivor Act was introduced this session by an array of bipartisan legislators. Its goals are clear and admirable — an act to require testing of all sexual assault examination kits.

Sexual assault is not a partisan issue, and I applaud the efforts that both parties in Raleigh have made to address this issue.

More so than many crimes, the evidence collection process in cases of sexual assault is rigorous and difficult for the victim. What can often become a multi-hour process yields a box full of evidence, but in North Carolina much of that evidence has gone unused for far too long.

The Survivor Act would provide $6 million in new money to help cut into the thousands of untested kits across the state.

Fayetteville police Lt. John Somerindyke, at a press conference rolling out the bill, cited a recent instance where a kit tested after 30 years on the shelf produced a DNA match, and the police were able to make an arrest.

While the price tag may seem large in the abstract, thinking about the potential benefits of this measure should outweigh the cost.

Each tested kit that results in the apprehension and incarceration of violent offenders is worth every penny. Clearing the backlog does more than rectify the injustice of unused evidence — it provides peace of mind to those who survived attacks, and possibly prevents future attacks by stopping offenders before they can strike again.

Absent the clear benefits of this legislation, it is also indicative of an appetite for bipartisanship in the state capital. The calculus in Raleigh has changed, with new members ascending and the balance of powers shifting. In the early days of the 2019 session, it is good to see members of both parties joining to make progress on this issue.

It transcends partisan disagreements and gets to one of the core reasons we elect representatives: to protect our citizens.

In his press release, Attorney General Josh Stein said, “The Survivor Act will go a long way in making North Carolina safer from serial rapists and bringing justice to survivors of these heinous crimes.”

Though much still divides us, Stein and the supporters of the Survivor Act have proposed one policy we all can and should support.

Kirk Kovach is from Rowan County and contributes to politicsnc.com.