Appeals Court Rules Against Change in Sodomy Law
Associated Press, November 22, 2000
The Virginia Court of Appeals has rejected a challenge to the state law against sodomy.
A three-judge panel of the court unanimously upheld the convictions of nine men arrested
for soliciting sex with undercover police officers in Roanoke’s public parks. A
lawyer for the men had argued the law should be struck down because consensual oral sex is
common among married, unmarried, gay and straight people. But the court ruled that the
private conduct of married couples has nothing to do with efforts by Roanoke authorities
to combat "cruising" by gay men in a city park. Thirty years ago, all 50 states
had laws that prohibited consensual oral sex. Today, Virginia is one of 17 states that
still has a law against sodomy.
Elvis Gene DePriest, et al. v. Commonwealth of
Virginia, 2000
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