
By: David Worrell
Re: Sodomy 1

Several people (I don't remember which people) were discussing the
sodomy laws of various states.  I thought the following text file might
clear up some points.

** begin quoted material **
Date: 13 Dec 1994 08:14:07 GMT
From: elf@halcyon.com (Elf Sternberg)

                   UNITED STATES LEGAL ISSUES REGARDING SEX

United States Sodomy Laws, state by state

  IN THE FIRST COLUMN, AN M INDICATES MISDEMEANOR, F IS FELONY.

   ALABAMA
          M 13A-6-65,Sexual Misconduct, 1 year/$2000
          Does not apply to married couples.

   ALASKA Repealed effective 1980

   ARIZONA
          M 13-1411, Crime Against Nature (anal intercourse), 30
          days/$500
          M 13-1412, Lewd and Lascivious Acts, 30 days/$500

   ARKANSAS
          M 5-14-111, Sodomy, 1 year/$1000, same sex only

     Bill passed unanimously "aimed at weirdos and queers who live in a
     fairyland world and are trying to wreck family life." Signed into
     law by governor in 1977.

   CALIFORNIA Repealed effective 1976

   COLORADO Repealed effective 1972

   CONNECTICUT Repealed effective 1971

   DELAWARE Repealed effective 1973

   FLORIDA
          M 800.02, Unnatural and Lascivious Act, 60 days/$500

   GEORGIA
          F 16-6-2, Sodomy, 1 to 20 years

     Upheld as to homosexuals on the grounds that there is no fundamental
     federal constitutional right to "engage in sodomy." Bowers v.
     Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986).

          M 16-6-15, Solicitation of Sodomy, 1 year/$1000

   HAWAII Repealed effective 1973

   IDAHO
          F 18-6605, Crime Against Nature, 5 years to life

   ILLINOIS Repealed effective 1962

     First state to repeal sodomy laws, in 1961.

   INDIANA Repealed effective 1977

     Earlier effort to repeal said legalization might "give us an
     opportunity to study it more openly, and to see what causes it, in
     the hope that we can eventually eliminate it."

   IOWA Repealed effective 1978

   KANSAS
          M 21-3505, Sodomy, 6 months/$1000, same sex only

   KENTUCKY
          Held unconstitutional by state Supreme Court 1992. Commonwealth
          v. Wasson

   LOUISIANNA
          F 14.89, Crime Against Nature, 5 years/$2000.

     Held unconstitutional by Orleans Parish Court, appeal pending.

   MAINE Repealed effective 1976

   MARYLAND
          F 27-553, Sodomy, 10 years
          F 27-554, Unnatural or Perverted Sexual Practices, 10
          years/$1000

     Found not to apply to noncommercial, hetrosexual activity in
     private. Schochet v. State, 1990.

   MASSACHUSETTS
          F 272-34, Crime Against Nature, 20 years
          F 272-35, Unnatural and Lascivious Acts, 5 years/$100-$1000

     Crime Against Nature applies only to anal intercourse. Unnatural and
     Lascivious Acts has been held not apply to private consensual adult
     behavior. Commonwealth v. Balthazar, Supreme Judicial Court 1974. It
     has been suggested that such a ruling would apply to Crime Against
     Nature.

   MICHIGAN
          F 750.158, Crime Against Nature, 15 years

     Held unconstitutional as applied to private, consensual adult
     behavior. Michigan Organization for Human Rights v. Kelly (Wayne
     County Circ. Ct. 1990), no appeal taken, only applies to Wayne
     County. Held consitutional by Michigan Court of Apeals (People v.
     Brashier) 1992, effective outside of Wayne County. Decision is
     needed from the Michigan Supreme Court.

   MINNESOTA
          M 609.293, Sodomy, 1 year/$3000

     Minnesota's law also prohibits sex between humans and birds.

   MISSISSIPPI
          F 97-29-59, Unnatural Intercourse, 10 years

   MISSOURI
          M 566.090, Sexual Misconduct, 1 year/$1000, same sex only

   MONTANA
          F 45-5-505, Deviate Sexual Conduct, 10 years/$50,000, same sex
          only

   NEBRASKA Repealed effective 1978

   NEVADA Repealed effective 1993

   NEW HAMPSHIRE Repealed effective 1975

   NEW JERSEY Repealed effective 1979

   NEW MEXICO Repealed effective 1975

   NEW YORK
          Held unconstitutional by state Supreme Court 1980, People v.
          Onofre

   NORTH CAROLINA
          F 14-177, Crime Against Nature, 10 years / discretionary fine

   NORTH DAKOTA Repealed effective 1975

   OHIO Repealed effective 1974

   OKLAHOMA
          F 21-886, Crime Against Nature, 10 years

     A 1977 effort to repeal sodomy laws was met with a vote-delaying
     "chorus of giggles."

   OREGON Repealed effective 1972

   PENNSYLVANIA
          Held unconstitutional by state Supreme Court 1980. Commonwealth
          v. Bonadio

   RHODE ISLAND
          F 11-10-1, Crime Against Nature, 7-20 years. Includes "ordinary
          extramarital intercourse."

   SOUTH CAROLINA
          F 16-15-120, Buggery, 5 years/$500

     The law actually legislates the "abominable crime of buggery." No
     further statutory explaination given.

   SOUTH DAKOTA Repealed effective 1977

   TENNESSEE
          M 39-13-510, Homosexual Acts, 30 days/$50, same sex only

   TEXAS
          Found unconstitutional by state Court of Appeals, England v.
          Dallas, no appeal taken. Effective 1994 with the dismissal of
          Morales v. State.

   UTAH
          M 76-5-403, Sodomy, 6 months/$1000

     In 1982, the Republican State Convention added a plank to its
     platform stating that homosexuals should be denied the civil,
     political, social, and economic rights guaranteed to others.

   VERMONT Repealed effective 1977

   VIRGINIA
          F 18.2-361, Crime Against Nature, 5-20 years

   WASHINGTON Repealed effective 1976

   WEST VIRGINIA Repealed effective 1976

   WISCONSIN Repealed effective 1983

   WYOMING Repealed effective 1977

  U.S. POSSESIONS

   D.C. Repealed effective 1993

   AMERICAN SAMOA Repealed effective ?

   GUAM Repealed effective ?

   N. MARIANA IS. Repealed effective ?

   VIRGIN ISLANDS Repealed effective ?

   PUERTO RICO
          Criminal, penalties unknown.

   Compiled by
    Bob Summersgill <xe605C@GWUVM.GWU.EDU>

   DC Sodomy-Law reform coalition.

By: David Worrell
Re: Age of consent

The last part of the sodomy text file contained ages of consent for the
various states.  Most of them were what you'd expect, but there was one
that caught my eye...

** begin quoted text **

[...]

Mississippi....18 [2]

[...]

   [2] If the female is over 12, the statute applies only to virgins.

** end quoted text **

I guess non-virgins aren't quite as important as virgins...

If anybody wants the entire file (no, I don't want to know *why* you want
it), let me know.


... I take my pet Lion to church every Sunday.  He has to eat!


