P. O. Box 75265
Washington, D.C. 20013
(202) 667-5139
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 28, 2004
CONTACT: Bob Summersgill
(202) 667-5139
GLAA Celebrates Repeal of Outdated Anti-Sex Laws
The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington (GLAA) is celebrating the repeal of outdated anti-sex laws in the District of Columbia. The repeal took effect on April 29, 2004.
The Elimination of Outdated Crimes Amendment Act of 2003 repeals a number of outdated laws, including the adultery and fornication laws. The bill was passed by the Council and signed by Mayor Anthony A. Williams earlier this year. It became effective on April 29 upon completion of the mandatory 60 legislative-day Congressional review period. No efforts were made on Capitol Hill to overturn the legislation, which was first introduced as Bill 14-636 and became Bill 15-0079 when it was reintroduced into the current legislative session. The law will henceforth be known as Law 15-154.
Neither the adultery nor fornication law has been enforced for a very long time, but the criminal sanctions for extra-marital and pre-marital sex have remained on the books. GLAA attempted to have both of these laws repealed in 1981 along with the sodomy law and a complete modernization of the sexual assault laws. After the Congress heeded Jerry Falwell’s campaign to overturn the law, more than a decade passed before the sodomy law could be repealed in 1993 and the sexual assault laws modernized in 1995.
The repeal of the adultery and fornication laws is a significant step forward in decriminalizing consensual, noncommercial sex between adults in private.
GLAA also was successful in the inclusion of a new section of code that prevents the government from using the undefined common law to prosecute people for crimes such as sodomy, adultery, and fornication that have already been repealed.
§ 45-401(b) “The repeal of a criminal statute in the District of Columbia that is declaratory of or in abrogation of a common law crime shall not reinstate the common law crime.”
GLAA will continue to work for the elimination of common law for the prosecution of undefined “crimes” and laws that prohibit consensual sex between adults in private. Not the least of these are the notorious “Solicitation for Lewd or Immoral Purposes” clauses that were used to harass gay men, and have no legitimate purpose.
GLAA President Kevin Davis lauded the leadership provided by several elected officials and local organizations, singling out Councilmember Kathy Patterson, who introduced the legislation; Councilmembers Sharon Ambrose, David Catania, Linda Cropp, Jim Graham, Jack Evans and Carol Schwartz.
For further details, please consult the full text of the law at:
www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/images/00001/20031113124529.pdf.
Franklin Kameny’s testimony on the bill from December 5, 2002 is on GLAA’s website at:
www.glaa.org/archive/2002/kamenycommonlawrepeal1205.shtml.
The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington is the nation’s oldest continuously active gay and lesbian civil rights organization, founded in 1971.