New York repealed a 1907 law on Friday that made cheating on spouses a crime.
Before Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed a bill repealing the statute, cheaters could get hit with a misdemeanor—although charges have been rare and convictions even less likely.
What Has Kathy Hochul Said?
Hochul called her signing of the bill "ironic" given her happy marriage but said that adultery should be handled by the people involved and not the criminal justice system.
"While I've been fortunate to share a loving married life with my husband for 40 years—making it somewhat ironic for me to sign a bill decriminalizing adultery—I know that people often have complex relationships," Hochul said.
She added: "These matters should clearly be handled by these individuals and not our criminal justice system. Let's take this silly, outdated statute off the books, once and for all."
What Was New York's Adultery Ban?
Adultery bans are still law in several states, although some states have also moved to repeal these bans in recent years.
New York had defined adultery as when a person "engages in sexual intercourse with another person at a time when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse."
If you got caught cheating, you could've landed behind bars for three months.
State Assemblymember Charles Lavine, who sponsored the bill, said roughly a dozen people have been charged under the adultery law since the 1970s with just five being convicted.
"Laws are meant to protect our community and to serve as a deterrent to anti-social behavior. New York's adultery law advanced neither purpose," Lavine said in a statement Friday.
Cases Involving the Adultery Ban
New York's adultery ban was first used to arrest a married man and a 25-year-old woman who were, according to the man's wife, "living together as man and wife for several years," The New York Times wrote in September 1907.
The law appears to have last been used in 2010 when a woman was caught engaging in a sex act in a park. The adultery charge, however, was later dropped as part of a plea agreement.
New York almost repealed the adultery ban in the 1960s after a state commission assigned to evaluate the penal code said the law was virtually impossible to enforce.
But, lawmakers decided to keep it after an assemblyman argued that repealing it would make it look like the state was endorsing adultery, according to a June 1965 article in The New York Times.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
English (US) ·