Virginia Senate committee leaves state sodomy law on the books

[underpants]

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-sou--xgr-sodomy0308mar08,0,2265249.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia's anti-sodomy law will remain on the books for at least another year as a Senate panel rejected a bill Monday to decriminalize sodomy in private settings.

Del. David Albo's bill sought to rewrite Virginia's law in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision last June in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down the anti-sodomy law in Texas.

Albo's bill stopped short of repealing Virginia's existing "crimes against nature" law, but proposed a new statute specifying that such behavior is illegal when committed in a public place.

However, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted 10-5 to kill the legislation, with Republican members saying the law could still be partially applied as written.



Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore has said changing Virginia's law may be premature because several sodomy cases are pending in courts across the state. He also said the public aspect of the law could still be applied despite the Supreme Court's ruling on sodomy in private settings.

Sodomy in a public place would have remained a felony punishable by up to five years in prison or a $2,500 fine, while sex acts committed by heterosexuals in public would be considered a misdemeanor.

Ticer's bill would have dropped sodomy to a misdemeanor, but that placed the solicitation to commit sodomy charge in jeopardy because it's only applicable with felonies.