New York, known for its progressive stance on many social issues, is poised to take another step forward as lawmakers consider repealing a long-standing ban on adultery. Dating back over a century, the law could soon be abolished, with a bill making its way through the state legislature.
The legislation seeks to scrap the rarely enforced law that criminalizes adultery, an act punishable by up to three months in jail. Although adultery laws remain on the books in several states across the U.S., prosecutions are exceedingly rare, and convictions even rarer. Originally enacted to deter divorces when infidelity was the sole legal grounds for marital dissolution, the law’s relevance has waned significantly over time.
New York’s adultery statute, in effect since 1907, defines adultery as engaging in sexual intercourse with someone other than one’s spouse while both parties are still married. Despite its historical presence, the law has seen minimal enforcement, with only a handful of charges filed since the 1970s, and even fewer resulting in convictions.
Assemblyman Charles Lavine, the sponsor of the bill seeking to repeal the ban, argues that the law is antiquated and irrelevant in modern society. Lavine contends that government intervention into the private lives of consenting adults is unwarranted and out of step with contemporary norms.
The push to repeal New York’s adultery law reflects broader societal shifts away from moralistic regulation of private behavior. Katharine B. Silbaugh, a law professor at Boston University, notes that adultery bans historically targeted women and were intended to reinforce patriarchal norms around marriage and family.
The bill to abolish the adultery law has already cleared the Assembly and is expected to pass the Senate before heading to the governor’s desk for final approval. Similar efforts to repeal adultery laws are underway in other states, with proponents arguing that such laws are archaic relics that have no place in modern legal frameworks.
While questions persist over the constitutionality of adultery laws, recent Supreme Court decisions have raised doubts about their validity. Although the practical impact of these laws may be limited due to their rarity in enforcement, their existence poses broader questions about individual liberty and privacy rights in the realm of personal relationships.
