Wasn't sodomy legalized? I'm a bit confused though, because I just heard of a case where a woman was raped, so they charged the man with both rape and sodomy. It's very unfortunate, but does that meant that sodomy is still a crime? Is it only legal when it's between two consenting adults?
2006-09-10 09:58:11 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
If sodomy is unconsented, why wouldn't that be just rape instead of rape AND sodomy?
2006-09-10 10:07:15 · update #1
Since I don't know how the laws are phrased in other states, I'll give you one example of a sodomy law on the books and used regularly.
The State of Alabama has several laws that cover sexual abuse. The most commonly understood one is Rape. Rape is non-consensual vaginal intercourse. There is also Sodomy. Sodomy is non-consensual anal intercourse or mouth to genital contact. Then there is Sexual Abuse. Sexual Abuse is any other type of non-consensual sexual contact. There are also different degrees of these crimes, which take into account different circumstances, such as the age of the victim.
The issue of consent is the key between any one of those acts being legal or being considered a crime. If the acts are between two consenting adults, no matter their genders, then the acts are completely legal. If one of the two involved is either being forced, is mentally not capable of consent, or below the age of legal consent, then the act becomes a crime.
To give an example where the charges could be as you mention, if a man forces a woman to have vaginal intercourse, he would be charged with Rape. If a man forces a woman to have vaginal intercourse and then anal intercourse, then he would be charged with Rape and Sodomy.
People tend to think that sodomy laws are designed to prohibit homosexual relationships, but most of those sodomy laws were either changed or removed. Modern sodomy laws just cover different circumstances than rape. It's still all about the consent.
2006-09-10 19:12:38 · answer #1 · answered by RJ 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In the US, the Supreme Court ruled (Lawrence v. Texas) that private sexual activity between consenting adults could not be made illegal.
However, many states define sexual crimes by the type of act. So, in some states "sodomy" is a specific type of sexual crime, and a person can be charged with it where the victim is non-consenting. Same with "rape" which may or may not include acts defined as sodomy. So, it all depends on the state laws in question.
2006-09-10 17:36:25 · answer #2 · answered by coragryph 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
The Supreme Court did NOT strike down the federal government's ban on sodomy -- i.e., in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In the Armed Forces, engaging in sodomy is still enough to get you kicked out.
2006-09-10 18:49:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Laws against sodomy are still on the books in most states and they use them in these cases in order to get stiffer punishments. I suspect that in your state the law is very specific, defining rape as forced penetration of the vagina and sodomy as penetration of the anus. The Supreme Court ruled in 2003 in Lawrence v. Texas that laws banning consensual sodomy are illegal, but even if the same law was used to prosecute both consensual and nonconsensual sodomy it can still stand to prosecute nonconsensual sodomy.
2006-09-10 17:11:33 · answer #4 · answered by James 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The laws regarding sodomy very from state to state. Obviously if one of the adult is not consenting, it is rape and therefore illegal.
2006-09-10 17:05:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends on how many people are involved. If more than 1 person is involved in the act of sodomy then sodomy becomes illegal, but it is rarely enforced.
2006-09-10 17:03:02 · answer #6 · answered by lala 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
in some states it is.
2006-09-10 17:09:09 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
lol...I hope it's legal......
2006-09-10 17:03:59 · answer #8 · answered by Laura 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋