The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    State laws invade Louisiana bedrooms

    There are laws against adults participating in anal or oral sex in about 13 of our country’s states. Louisiana is one of those states. 

    Let me inform you about the outdated, yet upheld sodomy laws. Louisiana “sodomy” statute asserts that “A Crime Against Nature: The unnatural carnal copulation by a human being with another of the same sex or opposite-sex or with an animal… Emission is not necessary; and, when committed by a human being with another, the use of the genital organ of one of the offenders of whatever sex is sufficient to constitute the crime…The solicitation by a human being of another with the intent to engage in any unnatural carnal copulation for compensation.”  The “carnal copulation” includes anal sex and oral sex between same-sex and opposite-sex consenting adult partners. 

    The laws I mentioned above are still a part of our state despite the fact that 11 years ago there was a U.S. Supreme Court ruling with the case of “Lawrence vs. Texas” which stated “the liberty protected by the Constitution allows homosexual persons the right … [of] intimate conduct with another person,” meaning they eradicated the sodomy laws which prohibited sexual contact between consenting adults, gay and straight. The Lawrence Court ruling officially legalized homosexuality in every state except for 12 remaining states, which includes Louisiana.  These laws may seem like one of those strange, outdated or rumored laws that are no longer enforced, or have just simply been ignored over the years, but in actuality Louisiana legislature has been actively rejecting the “Lawrence” ruling in recent years and enforcing the anti-sodomy laws onto people. The enforcement of anti-sodomy laws appears to focus on gay people even if the wording of the law applies to opposite-sex partners as well. 

    Gay people are being specifically targeted due to the loose wording of these laws. This allows room for law enforcement to act out discrimination and harassment toward gay people.

    Since 2011, 12 men have been arrested for being homosexual. There was a specific secret operation held in East Baton Rouge where undercover police officers would offer sex to presumably gay men and invite them over to an apartment where they would then be arrested. Keep in mind this was not an operation to cut down on prostitution, nor to shut down any public sex acts, as there was no money promised to be exchanged, and the agreed-upon location was a private domicile. The operation was specifically targeted at gay men and wreaked of entrapment; however, these laws are what allowed the officers to get away with this scot-free. 

    The anti-sodomy laws are held in place to actively oppress, humiliate and incarcerate sexual minorities. The sodomy laws against consenting adult sexual partners can also cost our state risks for taxpayers’ money in legal fees for people trying to fight their incarceration.  The Louisiana sodomy statute, which  addresses punishment for disobeying this law states, “Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars, or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or both.”  

    This is an awful lot of legal trouble and expense for something that would be enacted behind closed doors and between two consenting adults. The anti-sodomy laws are illogical, harmful to society and need to go.

     
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