Massachusetts Sodomy Ruling

     As we went to press, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts invalidated parts of two centuries-old sodomy laws but left intact some areas of enforcement. The two laws involved prohibited oral and anal sex and carried penalties of up to 5 and 20 years imprisonment, respectively.
      Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders argued that the laws were being selectively enforced against gay men and lesbians and not applied against heterosexuals, and are unconstitutional because they “criminalize common acts of intimacy.”
      The nine individuals who brought the case were not currently subject to prosecution, so the case was dismissed. But in its terse dismissal, the court for the first time “declared that neither of the Massachusetts laws apply to private, consensual conduct,” according to a GLAD press release.
      Jennifer Levi, the GLAD attorney who argued the case before the high court, commented, “This is a tremendous victory. The court today clarified that these antiquated laws may not be used to intrude on individuals' rights to engage in common acts of intimacy in private settings. Moreover, in a key part of the ruling, the court affirmed that neither the Attorney General nor the district attorneys may prosecute anyone under the challenged laws unless the conduct took place either in public or without consent.”
      According to GLAD, 14 states still have sodomy laws, only 4 of which apply exclusively to same-sex conduct.