The Dallas Morning News has published a balanced opinion piece allowing a representative for both sides of the “yes means yes” debate to present their ideas. Samuel R. Staley, a research fellow at the libertarian Independent Institute, argues that the approach is “unreasonable and unworkable.”

Staley notes that relationship counselors recognize the need to build trust within relationships, and that trust and intimacy is built through “verbal, nonverbal and behavioral actions,” which are sometimes legally ambiguous. But, Staley argues, “yes means yes” policies presume that sex is “unwanted and destructive,” codifying into law rules that make building trust difficult.