California
- Statute: Repealed effective 1976
History
"The primary focus of the gay movement in the early 1970s was repealing anti-gay
sodomy laws. After several legislative attempts and demonstrations organized by the
Metropolitan Community Church founder Rev. Troy Perry, among others, the Consenting Adults
Bill authored by Assemblyman Willie Brown passed with the tie-breaking, late-night vote by
Lt. Gov. Merv Dymallyin May of 1975 and was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown.
"With that success came a backlash that included orange juice shill Anita
Bryant’s anti-gay crusade, the campaign to pass the Briggs initiative to outlaw gay
teachers, and the assassination of openly gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. In his
second inaugural address in January 1979, Brown responded by calling for the inclusion of
gays in the state’s anti-discrimination laws. That same month, Art Agnos, who had
defeated Milkin a 1976 race for the Assembly, introduced the first bill in the state aimed
at achieving that goal. About 200 activists marched on Sacramento to urge the bill’s
passage."
-Frontiers Newsmagazine,
October 15, 1999, California's Gay Golden Age (excerpt)
1801 Though
carried out under Spanish law, the last known U.S. death sentence for sodomy
occurs in California. Eighteen-year-old Jose Antonio Rosas is shot by a firing
squad.
1850 California’s
first criminal code is enacted, and includes a ban on sodomy. The law begins
with the preface, “The People of the State of California, represented in
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:”. However, the law was enacted in
April when California still was a territory. It did not become a state until
September, and it is unclear if this made the original law invalid.
1897 The
California Supreme Court upholds the sodomy convictions of two prisoners for
relations with each other in their cell, the first published U.S. case dealing
with sex in a prison.
1909 California
is the first state to adopt a sterilization law covering “sexual
perverts.”
1915 A
California appellate court is the first in the nation to ponder, in a written
opinion, the nature of human sexuality in a sodomy case.
1915 California
expands its sodomy law by enacting a law against oral sex. This unique law
actually outlawed the acts of “fellatio” and “cunnilingus,” the first
uses of these words in a U.S. statute. Four years later, the California
Supreme Court struck down the law, saying that “fellatio” and
“cunnilingus” are not words of ordinary use in the English language,
something California law requires. The legislature responds by outlawing
“oral copulation.”
1919 A
California appellate court upholds a sodomy conviction that followed a
mother’s drilling holes in her 14-year-old son’s bedroom wall to see what
he was doing with a partner.
1925 A
California appellate court upholds a sodomy conviction that is the first case
in the nation to mention condoms found in the home as evidence admitted
against the defendant.
1927 A
California appellate court upholds a sodomy conviction that followed a
mother’s hiring a private detective to hide under the bed of her son’s
partner and burst out during their sex.
1939 California
enacts the nation’s first law requiring revocation of a teacher’s license
if the teacher is convicted of sodomy or oral copulation.
1947 California
is the first state in the nation to enact a “sex offender registration
law.” It requires registration and reports of changes of address of persons
convicted of sex offenses, including consensual sodomy and oral copulation.
1951 A
California appellate court rules that Gay men are vagrant per se, permitting
them to be jailed without committing any criminal act.
1962 The
California Supreme Court is the first in the nation to find a right to privacy
in enclosed restroom stalls, reversing convictions for consensual sodomy
occurring therein. Many other state courts follow this decision.
1969 California
enacts a unique law, signed by Governor Ronald Reagan, permitting the
treatment of sexual psychopaths by means of prayer alone.
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