Sodomy laws in the United States
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Sodomy laws in the United States, laws primarily intended to outlaw gay sex, were historically pervasive, but have been invalidated by the 2003 Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas.
History of US law
On June 26, 2003, the US Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision struck down the Texas same-sex sodomy law, ruling that this private sexual conduct is protected by the liberty rights implicit in the due process clause of the United States Constitution. (See Lawrence v. Texas.) This decision invalidated all state sodomy laws insofar as they applied to noncommercial conduct in private between consenting adults, and overruled an earlier ruling from 1986 in which Georgia's sodomy law had been upheld. (Bowers v. Hardwick.)
Before that 2003 ruling, 27 states, the District of Columbia and 4 territories had repealed their sodomy laws by legislative action, 9 states had had them overturned or invalidated by state court action, 4 states still had same-sex laws, and 10 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. military had laws applying to all regardless of gender.
Prior to 1962, sodomy was a felony in every state, punishable by a lengthy term of imprisonment. Over the years, many of the states that did not repeal their sodomy laws had enacted legislation reducing the penalty. Immediately prior to the Lawrence decision in 2003, the penalty for violating a sodomy law varied very widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction among those states retaining their sodomy laws. The most harsh penalties were in the state of Idaho, where sodomy could theoretically earn a life sentence. Michigan followed, with a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.
In most US states the laws were no longer enforced, or were very selectively enforced. The continued presence of these rarely enforced laws on the statute books, however, was often cited as justification for discrimination against gay men and lesbians.
State Laws prior to 2003 invalidation
Sodomy laws and penalties in US states and territories, immediately prior to their invalidation in 2003, according to information provided by the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund (external article) (http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/documents/record?record=275) and the American Civil Liberties Union (external article) (http://www.aclu.org/issues/gay/sodomy.html), were as follows:
- Alabama (all sexes; misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year imprisonment and $2000 fine)
- Alaska (repealed, 1980)
- American Samoa (repealed, 1979)
- Arizona (repealed, 2001)
- Arkansas (invalidated by courts, Jegley v. Picado (http://www.lambdalegal.org/binary-data/LAMBDA_PDF/pdf/149.pdf), 2002)
- California (repealed, 1976)
- Colorado (repealed, 1972)
- Connecticut (repealed, 1971)
- Delaware (repealed, 1973)
- District of Columbia (repealed, 1993)
- Florida (all sexes; misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days imprisonment and $500 fine)
- Georgia (invalidated by courts, Powell v. State, 510 S.E.2d 18, 1998)
- Guam (repealed, 1976)
- Hawaii (repealed, 1973)
- Idaho (all sexes; felony punishable by imprisonment for 5 years to life)
- Illinois (repealed, 1962)
- Indiana (repealed, 1977)
- Iowa (repealed, 1978)
- Kansas (same sex only; misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months imprisonment and $1000 fine)
- Kentucky (invalidated by courts, Commonwealth v. Wasson, 842 S.W.2d 487, 1992)
- Louisiana (all sexes; felony punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment and $2000 fine)
- Maine (repealed, 1976)
- Maryland (invalidated by courts, Williams v. Glendening, 1998 Extra LEXIS 260, Baltimore City Circuit Court, 1998)
- Massachusetts (interpreted by courts not to apply to private acts, GLAD v. Attorney General (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=ma&vol=sjcslip/8539&invol=1), 2002)
- Michigan (felony punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment; statute was struck down by Wayne County judge but status was unclear)
- Minnesota (invalidated by courts, 2001)
- Mississippi (all sexes; felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment)
- Missouri (same sex only; misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year imprisonment and $1000 fine; one appellate court interpreted the law not to apply to consensual acts, but other appellate court reached opposite conclusion)
- Montana (invalidated by courts, Gryczan v. Montana, 1997)
- Nebraska (repealed, 1978)
- Nevada (repealed, 1993)
- New Hampshire (repealed, 1975)
- New Jersey (repealed, 1979)
- New Mexico (repealed, 1975)
- New York (invalidated by courts, People v. Onofre, 415 N.E.2d 936, 1980; and later repealed, 2000)
- North Carolina (all sexes; felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and discretionary fine)
- Northern Mariana Islands (repealed, 1983)
- North Dakota (repealed, 1973)
- Ohio (repealed, 1974)
- Oklahoma (same sex only; felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment)
- Oregon (repealed, 1972)
- Pennsylvania (invalidated by courts, Commonwealth v. Bonadio, 415 A.2d 47, 1980; and later repealed, 1995)
- Puerto Rico (all sexes; felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment)
- Rhode Island (repealed, 1998)
- South Carolina (all sexes; felony punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment and $500 fine)
- South Dakota (repealed, 1977)
- Tennessee (invalidated by courts, Campbell v. Sundquist, 926 S.W.2d 250, 1996)
- Texas (same sex only; misdemeanor punishable by up to $500 fine)
- Utah (all sexes; misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months imprisonment and $1000 fine)
- Vermont (repealed 1977)
- Virgin Islands (repealed, 1984)
- Virginia (all sexes; felony punishable by 1-5 years imprisonment)
- Washington (repealed, 1976)
- West Virginia (repealed, 1976)
- Wisconsin (repealed, 1983)
- Wyoming (repealed, 1977)