The Utah Legislature is considering whether adultery and sodomy among consenting adults should remain criminal offenses.
The Legislature’s Criminal Code Task Force unanimously advanced a bill Monday that would make small changes to state law, which included repealing the criminal offenses of adultery and sodomy, according to FOX 13.
“Those have been found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,” said Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield.
In Utah State Code, adultery is a class B misdemeanor and can result in up to six months in jail. FOX 13 found arrests for it as recently as last year.
As for sodomy, the United States Supreme Court declared in 2003 that states cannot tell consenting adults what they’re permitted to do in their own home — but Utah retained its law.
The LGBTQ rights group Equality Utah praised the decision, saying, "It’s long past time that Utah code reflected the legal precedent established 15 years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Laura Bunker of the social conservative group United Families International said the group was not taking a position on the bill.
Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune and FOX13 are content-sharing partners.
