SB 219, sponsored by Senator Rick Jones, would make anal and oral sex felonies punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment.
The legislation is actually a package of animal protection bills that would ban animal abusers from adopting pets.
But one clause seeks to amend the language of the state penal code on bestiality and sodomy, which are conflated in Michigan law.
‘A person who commits the abominable and detestable crime against nature with mankind or with any animal is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for no more than 15 years,’ it states.
If the defendant is already a sex offender, violations are punishable by up to life.
Jones said removing the words banning sodomy – ‘with mankind’ – would jeopardize the whole bill.
‘The minute I cross that line and I start talking about the other stuff, I won’t even get another hearing. It’ll be done,’ he told The New Civil Rights Movement.
‘Nobody wants to touch it. I would rather not even bring up the topic, because I know what would happen. You’d get both sides screaming and you end up with a big fight that’s not needed because it’s unconstitutional.’
Twelve states still have anti-sodomy on the books, even though the US Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional in 2004.
Here's whats insidious about such unconstitutional laws, state and local homophobic law officers still make arrest citing these laws, yes, they know it won't hold up in court, but by then, the damage is done, your names in the paper for being arrested and stating why you were arrested, it will still be on your record for being arrested.
It's damaging especially to those gay men who either aren't out or can't be out in their jobs for fear of being fired because they are gay.
Laws like this are intended to empower homophobia and used to intimidate, coerce and abuse homosexual men.
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