TO: All Members of City Council
FROM: John Bennett
Staff Director
DATE: December 16, 1992
Earlier this week Kelly, Penny, and I did some research on laws in other states which
prohibit homosexual activity; the research was for letters being written on the boycott of
Colorado by members of Council. One of the members suggested I share the information with
all of you so that you could use it if asked any questions about the boycott.
Checking the laws of all fifty states is very tedious because the nomenclature varies
from state to state. For example, the index to one state's statutes may refer to the word
"homosexual," while another state's may use the word "sodomy," and
another state's may use the words "deviant sexual intercourse." Several states
use words such as, "the infamous and despicable crime against nature" -- which
is so vague I discovered their statutes practically by accident. This all means that it is
difficult to find the statute in a particular state, and I may have omitted a state or
two. In fact, I have been told that at least twenty-four states and the District of
Columbia have statutes against homosexual activity, but I was able to find only
twenty-two. [They missed Massachusetts and Missouri. On Florida, they missed the
sodomy law. –Bob]
In any event, the statutes I have found are attached.
Colorado repealed its sodomy statute in 1971.
The following is a brief summary of the statutes. Please note that some of the statutes
do not specifically outlaw homosexual activity, however, they have traditionally been used
that way.
| State |
Activity Prohibited |
Penalty for Violation |
| Alabama |
Anal and oral
intercourse with a person of either sex |
Class A misdemeanor |
| Arizona |
Anal intercourse with a person
of either sex |
Class 3 misdemeanor |
| Arkansas |
Anal and oral intercourse with
person of same sex |
Class A misdemeanor |
| Florida |
Activity is not prohibited, but
being homosexual precludes a person from adopting |
|
| Georgia |
Anal and oral intercourse with a
person of either sex |
1 to 20 years in prison |
| Idaho |
Anal and oral intercourse
between persons of either sex or with animals |
Not less than 5 years in prison |
| Kansas |
Anal intercourse and possibly
oral intercourse. Act must be between members of same sex or between a person and animal. |
Class B misdemeanor |
| Kentucky |
Anal and oral intercourse with
person of same sex |
Class A misdemeanor |
| Louisiana |
Anal intercourse; solicitation
for anal intercourse; offense can be with a human of either sex or an animal |
Up to 5 years in prison with
hard labor; up to $2000 fine |
| Maryland |
Anal and oral intercourse with a
person of either sex or an animal |
Up to 10 years in prison; up to
$1000 fine |
| Michigan |
Anal intercourse with a person
of either sex or with animals |
Up to 15 years in prison. In
some cases up to life. |
| Minnesota |
Anal and oral intercourse with
person of either sex |
Up to 1 year in prison and a
fine of up to $3000 |
| Mississippi |
Anal and oral intercourse with
humans of either sex or with animals |
Up to 10 years in prison |
| Montana |
Statute covers deviate sexual
conduct, but we are unclear on everything that covers |
Up to 10 years in prison and a
fine up to $50,000 |
| Nevada |
Anal and oral intercourse
between adults of the same sex |
1 to 6 years in prison |
| North Carolina |
Anal and oral intercourse with
persons of either sex or with animals |
Class H felony + makes spouse of
person eligible for alimony |
| Oklahoma |
Anal and oral intercourse with
animals or persons of either sex |
Up to 10 years; can't be hired
in a nursing home |
| Rhode Island |
Anal and oral intercourse with
persons of either sex and with animals |
7 to 20 years in prison |
| South Carolina |
Anal intercourse with humans or
animals |
5 years in prison and a fine of
at least $500; additional penalty if offense is committed near child day care center; loss
of right to vote; convictions affect licensing as a teacher and ability to be appointed a
legal guardian of child |
| Tennessee |
Anal and oral intercourse
between persons of the same sex |
Up to 30 days in jail and a fine
up to $50 |
| Texas |
Anal and oral intercourse
between persons of the same sex |
A fine of up to $200 [Some
information indicates the Texas statute may have been found in violation of the Texas
constitution.] |
| Utah |
Anal and oral intercourse with
person of either sex |
Class B misdemeanor |
| Virginia |
Anal and oral intercourse with
persons of either sex and with animals |
Class 6 felony |
