Last edited: April 23, 2007

US Military

• Statute: US Code Title 10, Section 47, Subchaper X, Sec. 925. Art. 125. Sodomy. 
• Penalty: Court Martial
• Classification: Felony
• Restrictions: None
• Enforcement: 106 members of the armed services were discharged during the 2000 fiscal year that ended September 30, 2000, for homosexual acts according to the Pentagon.

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Statute

Section 47 - Uniform Code of Military Justice, Subchapter X, Punative Articles
Sec. 925. Art. 125. Sodomy

(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with
another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy.
Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offense.

(b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

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Legal

United States v. Eric P. Marcum, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, decided August 23, 2004 - http://www.armfor.uscourts.gov/opinions/2004Term/02-0944.pdf

United States v. Kenneth M. Bullock, Decision of the Army Court of Criminal Appeals narrowly reversing a conviction for consensual sodomy under UCMJ Art. 125 on Lawrence v. Texas grounds. - November 30, 2004

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News

• Clinton, Obama Dodge GI Sodomy - GayCityNews, April 12, 2007
  Only four of the 17 presidential hopefuls - Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich, and Mike Gravel - are willing to stand up for the right of gay military personnel to privacy in their sexual behavior.
• Would Pace Call Turing "Immoral"? - The Advocate, March 16, 2007
• Supreme Court Already Decided DADT Lesbian Major's Lawyers Tell Judge - 365Gay.com, July 1, 2006
  Lawyers for Air Force Reserve Maj. Margaret Witt, facing discharge from the military after it was discovered she is a lesbian, have told a federal judge that Don't Ask, Don't Tell cannot be enforced because of the Supreme Court ruling that overturned state sodomy laws.
• Army Charges 7 in Gay Sex-Site Case - PlanetOut.com, February 24, 2006
• Post-Lawrence, Military Ban Upheld - Gay City News, November 17, 2005
• Service Members Challenge “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy - The Advocate, July 9, 2005
• Boston Court Hears Oral Arguments in ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Challenge - Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, July 8, 2005
• Government Seeks Dismissal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Challenge - Boston Globe, July 8, 2005
• Military Gay Ban Justified Federal Judge Told - 365Gay.com, July 8, 2005
• Military’s Gay Ban Heads to Court - 365Gay.com, July 7, 2005
• Hetero Sodomy Conviction Upheld - Gay City News, March 10, 2005
• Pentagon Wants Gay Policy Suit Thrown Out - PlanetOut Network, February 8, 2005
• Administration Wants Gay Military Suit Tossed - 365Gay.com, February 7, 2005
• ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ - Houston Chronicle, February 6, 2005
• Supremes Decline to Hear Gay Sex Case - The Associated Press, January 19, 2005
• Supreme Court Rejects Military Sodomy Case - The Advocate, January 19, 2005
• Supreme Court Declines Gay Soldier’s Case - 365Gay.com, January 18, 2005
• Military Sodomy Ruling Offers Hope - Gay City News, December 16, 2004
• Military Appeals Court Reverses Heterosexual Sodomy Conviction - December 13, 2004
• Legal Scholars Assess Impact of Reversal of Military Sodomy Conviction - December 10, 2004
• Waging war on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ - December 9, 2004
• Military Appeals Court Overturns Sodomy Conviction - December 9, 2004
• Army Appeals Court Overturns Sodomy Conviction - December 8, 2004
• Military Court Overturns Sodomy Law - December 8, 2004
• Some Believe Ruling Undercuts ‘Don’t Ask’ - December 8, 2004
• Army Ruling Deals Blow to Sodomy Law - December 8, 2004
• Expelled Gay Soldiers Sue Armed Services - December 7, 2004
• Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Files Constitutional Challenge to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” - December 6, 2004
• Gay Vets Sue for Reinstatement - December 6, 2004
• Ousted Gays Sue Military to Be Reinstated - December 6, 2004
• Gay Veterans of War on Terrorism Sue Pentagon for Reinstatement - December 6, 2004
• Pentagon Policy on Gays Is Challenged - December 6, 2004
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• Military’s Highest Court Declines to Strike Down Sodomy Statute - August 25, 2004
• Military High Court Upholds Sodomy Ban - August 25, 2004
• Human Rights Campaign Statement on Military High Court Ruling - August 24, 2004
• Military Court Skirts Gay Sex Law - August 23, 2004
• SLDN: Military’s Highest Court Declines to Strike Down Sodomy Statute; Court Leaves Open Question of Constitutionality Article 125 - August 23, 2004
• Ex-Officers: Military’s Gay Policy Outdated - February 16, 2004
• Military Secrets - January 12, 2004
• Top Military Court Hears Case Against Sodomy Ban - October 20, 2003
• Military Anti Sodomy Law Under Review - October 8, 2003
• Military’s Highest Court Hears Oral Arguments in Historic Case Challenging Consensual Sodomy Ban - October 7, 2003
• Military’s Sodomy Ban Challenged - October 6, 2003
• SLDN, ACLU and Lambda Legal Urge Military’s Highest Court to Strike Down Law Banning Consensual Sodomy - October 2, 2003
• Remove Sodomy From Military Law Gay Advocates Urge - October 2, 2003
• Groups Challenge Military’s Sodomy Ban - October 2, 2003
• Sodomy Ruling Brings Military Challenges - August 5, 2003
• Sodomy Ruling Spurs Challenges To Military’s Policy on Gays - August 4, 2003
• Lawsuit Challenges Military’s Gay Policy - July 20, 2003
• Discharged Gay Vet Hopes Supreme Court Decision Bolsters Case Against Army - July 18, 2003
• Lawrence Decision Launches Military ‘Gay’ Ban Challenges - July 16, 2003
• Judicial Deference to Military May Affect Gay Rights, War on Terror - July 15, 2003
• Sodomy Ruling May Affect Military - July 14, 2003
• Gay Man, Citing Supreme Court Ruling, Fights ‘97 Army Discharge - July 9, 2003
• Military's Gay Ban Challenged in Wake of Sodomy Ruling - July 9, 2003
• Viet Vet Files ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ Constitutional Challenge Based on Sodomy Ruling - July 8, 2003
• Vietnam Veteran Files Constitutional Challenge To “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” & Federal Sodomy Statute - July 8, 2003
• ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Faces Challenge - July 7, 2003
• Decorated Veteran Challenges Army Dismissal - July 6, 2003
• Military Matters Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Will It Fall? - July 2, 2003
• Supreme Court Sodomy Decision Implicates Federal Sodomy Statute & "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" - June 26, 2003
• Uniform Discrimination: The "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" Policy of the U.S. Military - January 28, 2003
• One Year After Panel Recommends Repeal of Military Sodomy Statute, Pentagon & Congress Fail to Take Action - June 3, 2002
• Courage Under Fire - November 27, 2001
• Changes In Uniform Code of Military Justice Loom - June 14, 2001
• Military Panel: Repeal Code’s Sodomy Clause - June 8, 2001
• SLDN Hails Cox Commission Report on Military’s Sodomy Statute - June 2-4, 2001
• Pentagon: Discharge of Gays Rose - June 1, 2001
• US Military Told to Drop Sodomy - May 31, 2001
• Cox Commission Recommends Repeal of Military Sodomy Statute - May 30, 2001
• Military Panel Rejects Sodomy Law - May 30, 2001
• Sodomy Still Illegal in US Military - March 24, 2001
• Military Legal Aid Group Urges Repeal of Sodomy Statute - Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, March 23, 2001
• Bill Bradley Wows Crowd at New York Gay Community Center - February 29, 2000
• Appeals Court Throws Out Sodomy Conviction - October 26, 1998
• Captain's Sodomy Appeal Targets Commander - May 25, 1998
• Navy Targets Sailor's Use of `Gay' on AOL Case Raises Issue of Online Privacy Protection - Washington Post, January 12, 1998
• Representative Barney Frank Calls For Decriminalization of Consensual Sex in The Military - June 18, 1997

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Editorials

• Ready, Willing, Disqualified - Nathaniel Frank in the New York Times, December 16, 2004
• Letters: Is This Really Uniform Justice? - December 17, 2003
• Military Needs to Update Its Conduct Code - Deb Price for the Detroit News, September 15, 2003
• Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Go To Hell - May 31, 2002
• A Policy for the Timid - June 19, 2001
• Will Rumsfeld Defend Gays in Military? - March 26, 2001

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