Puerto Rico Moves to Abolish Sodomy Law
365Gay.com,
June 24, 2003
http://365gay.com/NewsContent/062403prSodomy.htm
By 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
San Juan, Puerto Rico—Puerto
Rico’s Senate has passed a new penal code which abolishes the crime of
sodomy. The bill has yet to be voted on by the House.
Gay activists had fought for more than a decade to have
the law wiped from the books, saying it was discriminatory because it only
targeted gay men.
The new penal code was two years in the making, finally
passing a key committee earlier this month. The sodomy issue was contentious
with considerable pressure from the Catholic Church on the island calling for
the law to remain in place.
Its fate was sealed though when the majority leader in
the Senate declared that the existing law was unenforceable.
The vote came days before the US Supreme Court is to
deliver its ruling on the Texas sodomy law. If the court strikes down the law,
13 states, including Texas will be affected.
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