This is an update of the current sodomy laws in the United States. Sodomy is not an act that is practiced ONLY by gay people - but in a lot of cases the law is only enforced against gay people....

http://www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=5028&c=41

Criminal Justice & Sodomy Laws

Crime and Punishment in America: State-by-State Breakdown of Existing Laws and Repeals


June 9, 2003




Legislative Repeal (26 + District of Columbia)
Sodomy laws that have been repealed through legislative action

Alaska (1980)
Arizona (2001)
California (1976)
Colorado (1972)
Connecticut (1971)
Delaware (1973)
District of Columbia (1993)
Hawaii (1973)
Illinois (1962)
Indiana (1977)
Iowa (1978)
Maine (1976)
Nebraska (1978)
Nevada (1993)
New Hampshire (1975)
New Jersey (1979)
New Mexico (1975)
North Dakota (1973)
Ohio (1974)
Oregon (1972)
Rhode Island (1998)
South Dakota (1977)
Vermont (1977)
Washington (1976)
West Virginia (1976)
Wisconsin (1983)
Wyoming (1977)

Invalidated by Courts (10)
States whose sodomy laws were struck down by courts

Arkansas
Jegley v. Picado, 80 S.W.3d 332 (Ark. 2001)

Georgia
Powell v. State, 510 S.E.2d 18 (1998)

Kentucky
Commonwealth v. Wasson, 842 S.W.2d 487 (Ky. 1992)

Maryland
Williams v. State, 1998 Extra LEXIS 260, Baltimore City Circuit Court, January 14, 1999

Massachusetts

GLAD v. Attorney General, SJC-08539 (Mass. Supreme Judicial Ct. 2002)

Minnesota
Doe v. Ventura, No. MC 01-489, 2001 WL 543734 (Minn. Dist. Ct 2001)

Montana
Gryczan v. Montana, 942 P.2d 112 (1997)

New York
People v. Onofre, 415 N.E.2d 936 (N.Y. 1980)

Pennsylvania
Commonwealth v. Bonadio, 415 A.2d 47 (Pa. 1980)
(The state legislature later repealed the law in 1995.)

Tennessee
Campbell v. Sundquist, 926 S.W.2d 250 (1996)

Existing Same-Sex Laws (4) and Their Penalties
States with sodomy laws that target only same-sex acts

Kansas (6 months/$1,000)
Missouri (1 year/$1,000)
Oklahoma (10 years)
Texas ($500)*

Existing Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Laws (9 + Puerto Rico) and Their Penalties
States with laws prohibiting sodomy between both same-sex and opposite-sex partners

Alabama (1 year/$2,000)
Florida (60 days/$500)
Idaho (5 years to life)
Louisiana (5 years/$2,000)*
Mississippi (10 years)
North Carolina (10 years/discretionary fine)
Puerto Rico (10 years)*
South Carolina (5 years/$500)
Utah (6 months/$1,000)
Virginia (1-5 years)*

Existing Laws -- Status Unclear (2) and Their Penalties


Michigan (15 years) (1)
Missouri (same-sex only) (1 year/$1,000) (2)

* Court challenge pending


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1. Statute struck down by a judge in Wayne County (Detroit area). Because case was brought on behalf of select individuals and not all residents and the decision was not appealed, current status of the law is in doubt.

2. One division of the State Court of Appeals has ruled that the law does not apply to consensual conduct. It is not clear whether that ruling will be applied throughout the state.