Sodomy laws in the United States
Through the mid to late 20th century, the gradual decriminalization of consensual sexual acts led to the elimination of anti-sodomy laws in most U.S. states.
In 2003, the Supreme Court reversed that decision with Lawrence v. Texas, which invalidated any state sodomy laws, some of which were still law in the following 14 states: Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
Beginning in the 19th century, the various state legislatures passed legislation which ended the status of capital punishment being used for those who were convicted under sodomy laws.
[2] According to one source, sodomy statutes in colonial America in the 17th century were largely unenforced as male-male eroticism did not threaten the social structure, challenge the gendered division of labor, or undermine the patriarchal ownership of wealth.
[3] There were gay men on General Washington's staff and among the leaders of the new republic,[4][page needed] even though in Virginia there was a maximum penalty of death for sodomy.
The continued existence of these rarely enforced laws on the statute books, however, are often cited as justification for discrimination against gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals.
On June 26, 2003, at the time of the Lawrence v. Texas decision, the following jurisdictions (20 US states, 1 US territory and the Uniform Code of Military Justice) had statutes criminalizing consensual sodomy: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, United States Armed Forces, Utah and Virginia.
First degree sodomy, with a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, is defined as being done by force as in rape, or an act with an animal or a dead body.
A psychopathic offender law was included with this statute, but covered only sexual acts with minors or with the use of force or threats.
[10] On January 31, 2013, the Senate of Virginia passed a bill repealing § 18.2-345, the lewd and lascivious cohabitation statute enacted in 1877.
On March 20, 2013, Governor Bob McDonnell signed the repeal of the lewd and lascivious cohabitation statute from the Code of Virginia.
[11] On March 12, 2013, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down § 18.2-361, the crimes against nature statute.
[13][14] On February 7, 2014, the Virginia Senate voted 40-0 in favor of revising the crimes against nature statute to remove the ban on same-sex sexual relationships.
[25] On May 17, 2023, the Minnesota legislature passed an Omnibus Judiciary and Public Safety Bill that included provisions repealing the state's sodomy, adultery, fornication, and abortion laws.
These statutes penalties are not enforceable due to the binding precedent of Lawrence v. Texas, meaning consensual sodomy cannot be prosecuted.
[27] Below is a table of sodomy laws in the jurisdictions in United States of America and penalties as applicable to the binding precedent of Lawrence v.
1971(crime against nature, unnatural carnal copulation by means of the mouth, or otherwise) 1975(law reinstated in 1977) 1971(Franklin v. State; crimes against nature)[31] 1971(law reinstated in 1972) 1998(Williams v. Glendening; opposite-sex oral sex and same-sex intercourse) 1990(Schochet v. State; opposite-sex intercourse)[32] 2020(sodomy)[34]
1990(Michigan Organization forHuman Rights v. Kelley; applied directly to Wayne County; uncertain whether ruling was binding statewide; reversed in 1992 in People v. Brashier)[36][37]
The criminal status of sodomy became ambiguous until 1901, when Congress passed legislation recognizing common law crimes, punishable with up to five years' imprisonment or a fine of $1,000.
In 1948, Congress enacted the first law specific to sodomy in the district, which established a penalty of up to ten years in prison or a fine of up to $1,000, regardless of sexuality.
Many of the published sodomy and solicitation cases during the 1950s and 1960s reveal clear entrapment policies by the local police, some of which were disallowed by reviewing courts.
In 1972, settling the case of Schaefers et al. v. Wilson, the D.C. government announced its intention not to prosecute anyone for private, consensual adult sodomy, an action disputed by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
The action came as part of a stipulation agreement in a court challenge to the sodomy law brought by four gay men.
[51][48] In 1995, all references to sodomy were completely removed from the criminal code, and in 2004, the D.C. government repealed an outdated law against fornication.
This included a revision of the Articles of War of 1806, the new regulations detail statutes governing U.S. military discipline and justice.
[55] On May 5, 1950, the Uniform Code of Military Justice was passed by Congress and was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, and became effective on May 31, 1951.
In both United States v. Stirewalt and United States v. Marcum, the court ruled that the "conduct [consensual sodomy] falls within the liberty interest identified by the Supreme Court,"[56] but went on to say that despite the application of Lawrence to the military, Article 125 can still be upheld in cases where there are "factors unique to the military environment" that would place the conduct "outside any protected liberty interest recognized in Lawrence.
[59] On December 26, 2013, President Barack Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, which repealed the Article 125 ban on consensual sodomy.
All sodomy statutes have been invalidated (ruled unconstitutional) by state courts or Lawrence v. Texas , but 12 have not been repealed by their state legislatures.