Fox News co-host Bob Beckel apologizes for rape remark

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Bob Beckel, liberal co-host of Fox News' "The Five," came under fire Tuesday for suggesting that rape rarely happened on college campuses.

During a discussion over whether concealed weapons could help prevent sexual assault on campuses, Beckel asked, "When was the last time you heard about a rape on campus?"

"What are you talking about? It's rampant," co-host Eric Bolling said.

"What are you going to take a gun out and shoot your date?" Beckel responded.

Beckel apologized on "The Five" Wednesday.

"It's a horrible, horrendous issue. Simply put, rape is rape. Whether it's date rape or it's somebody coming in off the campus trying to rape somebody else. I very strongly feel that way," Beckel said.

"So, I just want to straighten the record out on that. I simply was trying to make -- there was not a distinction to make here. It simply was that date rape is rape, and that is, by any other definition, rape is rape."

A 2010 Justice Department study said that approximately 25 percent of college women would be victims of rape or attempted rape before they graduated.