New York on Friday repealed a rarely used law more than a century ago that was considered a crime Cheating on your wife – A misdemeanor that could have led to the imprisonment of the perpetrators for three months.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill repealing the law, which dates back to 1907 and has long been considered outdated and difficult to enforce.
She said: “Although I have been fortunate to live a loving married life with my husband for 40 years – which makes it somewhat ironic for me to sign a bill decriminalizing adultery – I know that people often have complicated relationships.” “. “Clearly these matters should be dealt with by these individuals and not by our criminal justice system. Let’s take this ridiculous, outdated law off the books once and for all.”
The adultery prohibition is actually a law in many states and was enacted to make getting a divorce more difficult at a time when proving a spouse’s infidelity was the only way to obtain a legal separation. Charges were rare and convictions even rarer. Some states have also moved to repeal adultery laws in recent years.
New York defined adultery as when “a person has sexual intercourse with another person while he or she has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse.” The state law was used for the first time just weeks after it went into effect, according to A.J New York Times articleBy arresting a married man and a 25-year-old woman.
State Assemblyman Charles Lavin, who sponsored the bill, said about a dozen people have been charged under the law since the 1970s, and only five of those cases resulted in convictions.
“The laws are intended to protect our community and serve as a deterrent to antisocial behavior. New York’s adultery law has served no purpose,” Lavin said in a statement on Friday.
The state law was apparently last used in 2010, against a woman who was caught engaging in a sex act in a park, but the adultery charge was later dropped as part of a plea deal.
New York came close to repealing the law in the 1960s after a state committee charged with evaluating the penal code said it was nearly impossible to enforce.
At the time, lawmakers were initially OK with removing the ban, but eventually decided to keep it after a politician argued that repealing it would make it appear as if the state officially endorses infidelity, according to one lawmaker. New York Times article From 1965.