VA Supreme Court invalidates "singles sex law" News
VA Supreme Court invalidates "singles sex law"

[JURIST] In a unanimous ruling Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court [official website] struck down a state law prohibiting consensual sex between unmarried people. Read the opinion [PDF]. The justices based their decision on Lawrence v. Texas [ruling], the 2003 US Supreme Court case voiding a state anti-sodomy law. As in that case, the VA Supreme Court found the state law unconstitutional as it infringed the Due Process rights of adults to engage in private sexual conduct. The law against sex between consensual non-married individuals – Virginia Code § 18.2-344 – has been on the books for over 200 years but has not been enforced since 1847. AP has more.