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1833 FORNICATION LAW OVERTURNED
ATLANTA, GA -- The Georgia Supreme Court has struck down a 170-year-old law that made it a crime for unmarried people to have sex. The ruling came in the case of Jesse McClure, a 16-year-old boy discovered having sex with his girlfriend in the bedroom of her home. The young woman’s mother made the discovery. Under Georgia law, the age of consent is 16.
“Our opinion simply affirms that … the government may not reach into the bedroom of a private residence and criminalize the private, noncommercial, consensual sexual acts of two persons legally capable of consenting to those acts,” Chief Justice Norman Fletcher wrote.
Fletcher also wrote that nothing in the ruling should be read to address parents’ rights “to regulate what occurs inside their home, including who enters their house and under what circumstances.”
Following his original conviction, McClure was ordered to pay a fine and write an essay explaining why he should not have had sex. He wrote that it wasn’t the court’s business.
Fornication laws remain on the books in about 10 states and the District of Columbia. Courts have struck down such statutes in Florida, Virginia and New Jersey.
ATLANTA, GA -- The Georgia Supreme Court has struck down a 170-year-old law that made it a crime for unmarried people to have sex. The ruling came in the case of Jesse McClure, a 16-year-old boy discovered having sex with his girlfriend in the bedroom of her home. The young woman’s mother made the discovery. Under Georgia law, the age of consent is 16.
“Our opinion simply affirms that … the government may not reach into the bedroom of a private residence and criminalize the private, noncommercial, consensual sexual acts of two persons legally capable of consenting to those acts,” Chief Justice Norman Fletcher wrote.
Fletcher also wrote that nothing in the ruling should be read to address parents’ rights “to regulate what occurs inside their home, including who enters their house and under what circumstances.”
Following his original conviction, McClure was ordered to pay a fine and write an essay explaining why he should not have had sex. He wrote that it wasn’t the court’s business.
Fornication laws remain on the books in about 10 states and the District of Columbia. Courts have struck down such statutes in Florida, Virginia and New Jersey.
